"Help I'm Alive" / Book Review

I was watching the "Canada for Haiti" show online last night (I missed it on Friday)...this Metric performance is amazing! I never really liked this song much on the radio but I love this version. I think it really captures the feeling of how tough and resilient humans are, and how fragile they are all at the same time.

I also heard yesterday that Canadian's have now raised over $60 million dollars and that our government has removed the $50 million cap so they will be matching all donations made. What great news...I hope the momentum continues.

. "Help I'm Alive" Metric

Just finished this book as well. I don't want to give to much away but it is the story of two women living in Afganistan. It was a great book. It was a little window into what life might be like for a woman in Afganistan from about 1960 to about present day. I couldn't put it down. It has highlighted for me again just how important women's rights issues continue to be in this world.

CBC News - Canada - Ottawa matching Canadians' Haiti donations

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CBC News - Canada - Ottawa matching Canadians' Haiti donations

I can't stop thinking about the people in Haiti, it is just so sad. I know times are tight but please encourage everyone you know to donate whatever they can. I was so happy to hear today that the Canadian government will match whatever donations the public makes dollar for dollar. Matthew and I made a donation to red cross last night. They are so busy it was hard to get through online but we managed to get someone on the phone after a few tries.

Adoption Radio Show

Check out this online radio interview with the author of "I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla" from earlier today by clicking on the link below. They cover lots of important questions and it was well worth the listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/creatingafamily/2010/01/13/youre-chocolate-im-vanilla-white-parents-raising-c

This is a really neat website. It is called "Creating a Family" and every few weeks they do a radio segment relating to adoption or fertility. Last night I listened to a different segment about adopting toddlers that was quite good. Click on the link below and then click on the year you are interested in to see what radio shows are in the archive. There seem to be lots of other great adoption resources on this website as well. The lady who runs this non-profit site was the author of "The Complete Book of International Adoption". There is also a facebook group she runs that you can link to from her website where people bounce questions off her etc.

http://www.creatingafamily.org/radioshow.html

Ethiopian Names / Amharic Resources

Here are a few links to some neat resources on a different blog:

-a list of Ethiopian names (click on a letter and search by letter): http://ethiopia.limbo13.com/index.php/ethiopian_names/

-Amharic language resource (click on the symbol you are interested in and it opens a new page where it shows you how to say and write that symbol): http://ethiopia.limbo13.com/index.php/amharic/

-She also has a good list of other resources and info on hair/skin care (see the tabs at the top of her page).

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a great 2010!
2009 was a bit of a roller coaster ride and to be honest I am happy to leave that year behind. So we will wipe the slate clean and see what the new year (and decade) will bring.

On a different note we have now reached 17 months waiting for a referral.