Snowy, Paperwork and Thank Yous............

Here is a recent picture of Kozit.


It was taken by Ryan when Kozit was on her way to the clinic. She was given a clean bill of health. Yay!!!, no more earache. One report from Ethiopia shared that Kozit likes to hang out with the big kids and has the boys feeding her. Wow, what great skills! She already has the men wrapped around her finger. Rachelle and I are impressed and are hoping she will share her magic with us.

I received this news today from a traveling family---- Maria – I was able to get an amazing video and lots of pictures of her opening her gifts from you. She was SO happy and recognized you and her sister right away and had a big smile on her face when she saw the pictures. I honestly don’t know who was happier about the bag – her or her caregiver! Her caregiver dove right in and put her new sneakers and shirt and hat and necklace on and Kozit had as much as she could possibly carry in her arms and wasn’t about to let go!! First and foremost was the snowman – it was almost as if she knew – she held onto that with all of her might. Thank you so much Heidi. I am on emotional overload thinking of little Kozit hanging out with Snowy. Snowy is the a stuffed snowman that I have shared my bed with for the last 10+ years. My sister has one, many of my friends have one and it is so sweet to think of my little girl feeling all the love that snowy brings.

Here is a picture of Tsebay saying good bye to Snowy. We'll be reunited soon.


Here is a picture of the care package we sent Kozit.

It is filled with a photo album, an outfit, socks and shoes, bubbles, jump rope, Maui calendar and stickers, a Phillies cap and any other goodies I could squeeze in there. Preparing the package was a challenge. How do you tell a two year old you love them with things?

I am so anxious to bring Kozit home and show her our love through actions. The paperwork on my end is complete. It has been sent to Kate (KBS Dossiers) and is going through the authentication process. With any luck it will be completed some time next week, will make a quick stop in DC and then it will be on it's way to Ethiopia. Although I just went through the process for Tsebay I had to do all the paperwork again. The only break I got is that my CIS fingerprints were still on file. It's been crazy trying to get it all together and I am very excited that it is complete.

The raffle tickets are still being sold. We have over 150 still available. Please contact my cousin, Kate, at katemcentee@comcast.net or my mom at lorimerma@aol.com to make a $50. donation and possibly win a trip to Maui. See the previous post for more details. I am so touched by everyone's generosity. Blogging Buddies, you all rock!! Thank you for the emotional and financial support. I hope we all get to meet face to face with our little cuties sometime soon. "Uncle" Bob, Grandmom, and the random Oregon donor, thank you so much for your super generous donations. To all my family and friends that have donated and are spreading the word, thank you, thank you, thank you. Everyone's love and support really kept me motivated during the paperchase.

Here are some cute pics of Tsebay.

Go Phils


Our washer and dryer are outside so we take walks to pick up the wash and get the mail. Here is the final product.

Hawaii, anyone??

Aloha,

In an effort to raise funds for the adoption my family and friends have organized a fundraiser to help cover the costs. One adoption is a struggle and two in a year is financially impossible, at least for a teacher and soon to be mother of two. Every donation of $50. or more will get you a chance for a 10 day trip to Maui. We are only selling 275 chances. The goal is to raise $10,000 of the adoption costs. The additional $$$ will go towards the prize. This should cover about 1/2 of the costs. I'm hoping to receive some grants to help with the other 1/2. Please read the letter below for more details and feel free to spread the word. You can contact my cousin,Kate, at katemcentee@comcast.net or my mom,Mary Ann, at lorimerma@aol.com if you are interested in buying or selling chances.

Dear Friends and Family,

I am calling upon all of you to reach deep into your hearts and help someone very close to me reunite two baby sisters back together again. As most of you know from me and my mom, Maria Quinn, my mom's best friend from child-hood's daughter, a.k.a my "cousin" has recently adopted a beautiful now 7-month old baby girl, Tsebay from Ethiopia. I have included pictures for all to see. If I have not had the opportunity to tell you about Maria and Tsebay's journey, here is a brief look at how their lives have been brought together.

Maria, a single-woman living Maui, HI (Philly raised), who has a most fulfilling job as a teacher and mentor (not to mention a Big Sister for the last 6 years to two local boys) wanted to adopt a little girl, and for many reasons was drawn to Ethiopia. Well not long into the process, Maria found her little girl, Tsebay!

Soon after the news, Maria and her mom, Mary Ann, went on the long journey to Ethiopia to be united with their baby. While in Ethiopia, Maria had the opportunity to meet her new daughter's birth mom! However, the circumstances were not celebratory as Tsebay's mom had dropped off her two-year old daughter, Kozit, (Tsebay's big sister) at the orphanage just that week. The girls' birth mom asked Maria to take Kozit with her and Tsebay and "teach" her as she will Tsebay. Well at the time, Maria could not legally take the older sister even if she was prepared to. She would have to go through the entire process again from the beginning, as this is an entirely new adoption. The paperwork started as soon as the plane landed in the States and the process is getting under way. From the moment it was asked of her, Maria knew in her heart there was no way that she could leave Kozit behind to grow up without her sister (As I am sure we would all feel).

After about a month in New Jersey with Mimi and Pop-Pop (formerly known as Mom and Tom), Maria and Tsebay are now back at home in Maui. And while Maria is happy to be home with Tsebay, there is a sadness lingering as she thinks of Kozit waiting at the orphanage to be reunited with her sister.

Okay - so why am I telling you all this, except to share a wonderful, yet unbelievable story on how life and priorities change in an instant. Friends and family members of Maria (myself and my family included) are putting together a fund-raising raffle where all of the proceeds will help to pay to reunite Kozit with Maria and Tsebay. What we are planning to raffle off is a wonderful trip to Maui (or the winner could choose the cash equivalent). A minimum donation of $50.00 will get your name in the raffle.

Specifically, the 10 day trip to Maui will include:
-round trip tickets for two
-a lei greeting at the airport
-10 day accommodations in a cottage on the North Shore of Maui
-10 day car rental
-2 nights out at beautiful Maui restaurants
****The cash out option will be: $3000****

As you may or may not know, the cost to adopt a child is in the tens of thousands. If we exceed the costs of the adoption, any additional money raised will be donated to the wonderful adoption agency (Gladney Center for Adoption) that has brought Maria to Tsebay and soon to Kozit.

The drawing will take place on November 1st, and the winner will be contacted via telephone. You can track the progress of the drawing by visiting mquinn.blogspot.com, in addition to seeing the status of the raffle, you can also see pictures of the sisters and get updates on the progress of the adoption.

Please take some time to digest what I have just told you and think about the future you are helping to provide this two-year old little girl. Please consider helping this wonderful family, as I am sure the joy you will feel from knowing you have made a huge impact in another person’s life will far surpass any dollar amount. Any bit will help, so again, please give this some thought and talk to your friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers and ask them to chip in or buy a ticket themselves!

If you are interested, please email me at katemcentee@comcast.net or you can call me at 856-467-5117 and I will make sure I get you the tickets you would like to purchase. Our goal is to get 275 tickets sold so please pass this along to anyone interested in winning a trip or even more importantly, helping to bring Kozit home to her little sister!

Thank you all for taking the time to read this letter. I hope you are able to help (but will still love you if you can't!)

Warmest regards,

Kate

Paperwork,milestones and pics

My dossier paperwork is almost complete and I will be at the Fed. Ex. Office first thing Tues. morning. As I'm sure I've said before I can't believe I am in the middle of this paper chase again so soon. There are a few positive sides to starting the process again so quickly. The process is still fresh in my brain and I'm hoping to not make some of the same mistakes I made the first time around. Also, I'm so busy taking care of Tsebay and working that I am not as anxious and obsessive as I was the first time around. Kozit just got over bronchitis and is still fighting an ear infection. She needs her momma and her sister and we can't wait to see her. Tsebay gets so excited every time I show her a picture of Kozit. It will be so interesting to see the girls interact with each other. Will they remember each other? Will the bond be automatic? Will there be jealousy? They have not spent a lot of time together. I was able to see them interact for an hour or so while in Ethiopia. Kozit was kissing up on her sister and Tsebay seemed to mimic her sister a few times. They both have a tongue thing as is evident in this picture.


Tsebay is growing more and more each day. She is so pleasant and happy. People constantly comment about what a great baby she is. I definitely hit the baby lottery. She is starting to imitate speech and it seems her first word is cat. We have two outside cats that came with the house when I bought it. The old owners were very attached to the cats and were moving off island. I agreed to care for them although I am not a cat person. I feed them daily and pet them from time to time but Tsebay loves the cats and they definitely hang around more often since she came home with me. Now she is starting to put the sounds together and say cat. This would not be my choice for a first word but she is an independent thinker. What a big girl! Here are some recent pics of the little cutie......




Go, EAGLES!!!!


Yes, Tsebay is reading Surfing Mag. It's the green edition and she is stoked.

Clarification

The picture I posted yesterday is from when I was in Ethiopia and met Kozit two months ago. Yes, she does look super healthy and at the time the picture was taken had only spent a few days in the orphanage. The picture posted on the side of my blog is from Rachel Elliot (sorry I'm not sure how to hyperlink to her blog, can someone email me and let me know the trick). It was taken about a month ago. Thanks Rachel. As you can see little Kozit has a runny nose and some marks on her forehead in this pic. I also have a picture from Gladney that I am having a difficult time posting. It's on a word document, if someone could email me and let me know how to transfer I would really appreciate it. In the most recent picture Kozit has pox marks and is barely smiling. She is still adorable but in desperate need of some TLC. As you can imagine I am very anxious to hold this little girl in my arms and make sure she is well taken care of. Here are two more pics. The first is from Rachel and the second is from my trip.

Introducing Kozit

Yahooooooo!!!! While in Ethiopia I learned that Tsebay had a sister. Her birthmom put her in the orphanage and relinquished her rights the week I was there. She is two years old and is soooo adorable. Tsebay and I were able to spend time with her sister on the last day of my stay in Ethiopia. When she came into the room she ran up to Tsebay an started kissing her face. They look so much alike and have many similiar mannerisms. From the time I heard about this little one I felt there was a plan in place that these girls were meant to be together and be my family. Since returning home I have started the process to adopt this special little girl and just got news today that her medical tests (hep, HIV) all came back negative. Aside from the chicken pox (poor thing) and the occasional ear infection (poor poor thing) Kozit has been given a clean bill of health. God is good!! I plan to keep Kozit as her middle name and give her the name Maya as her first name.........Maya Kozit Quinn........ We were told her name was Hozit so we've been calling her Hozit for the past month. I guess I shouldn't get too attached to Kozit. You definitely have to be flexible in this process and keep your sense of humor. If all goes well I will be the mother of two within six months. I need to run and get the paperwork moving. I am off to fed ex my I-600 A, my Gladney paperwork and my fingerprints. Now everyone has been a bit lax lately with the comments and I've been a bit slow with the posts but lets get some love going for little Kozit.

And without further ado, here is a picture.......



Does she look like someone we know???

Settling in.........

Tomorrow will mark three weeks since Tsebay and I landed on Maui. It is wonderful to be here and share my life with Tsebay. She is such an awesome little girl and really goes with the flow. She is a big hit on Maui! I had two work meetings on Friday and she was so great through both of them. At one point I was giving an orientation to parents and had her on my hip. I would love to have her with me 100% of the time but going to work and having her with me is getting a bit exhausting. I am looking for a sitter for three days a week. It will be hard to leave her but necessary to make sure my job is well done. Please pray I am able to find a safe environment for my little angel.

Tsebay is learning new tricks everyday. She is starting the backward crawl and continues to ensure her wants and needs are met. She is super expressive and has the best sense of humor. She is very silly. I'm not sure where she gets that from. Tsebay is a people person. She makes eye contact and engages people everywhere we go. I constantly have people stop me in stores to tell me how cute she is. It is a true joy being her momma and I know I'm spoiled to have such an awesome baby.

Here are some pics of my little beach bum----





I am excited to see another person has donated to Gladney. There is a place to donate on the right hand side of my blog. The money will go to the Care Center in Ethiopia. Every little bit helps.

I hope to have some exciting news to post this week so keep checking in.

FINALLY

Here are some pics of Tsebay's adventures on the East Coast

Here are a few pics of the little cutie on Maui