Posted on :
11/29/2011
| By :
Joanna
My sister and her family came up from South Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving at my Dad's. It is so fun to see these adorable cousins together...although hearing protection might be a good idea next year (lots of squealing and screaming).
Watching Movies and squealing.
Making Christmas cookies.
My favorite :)
Posted on :
11/29/2011
| By :
Joanna
We celebrated Halloween at a big neighborhood party...which was so much fun.
Cutest butterfly ever!
Posted on :
11/29/2011
| By :
Joanna
I'm trying to catch up a bit on my blogging, so the next few posts will likely be mostly pictures;)
Maeve turned 2 in October, and we were so happy to celebrate her with lots of family and friends...many from out of town.
Ethiopian/Italian style cake from a local Ethiopian bakery.
Enjoying cake!
Singing with friends.
New kitchen from Mommy & Daddy.
Posted on :
10/12/2011
| By :
Joanna
Happy Anniversary to us! Four years of bliss, and this year has been the best!. It was our first full year as parents...not an easy year, but a year of joy and thanksgiving. Praise God for bringing our family together!
This is us at our reception, laughing hysterically at my brother-in-law's speech. I think my cheeks hurt more than my feet by the end of the night. It was such a blessing to have all of our friends and family from all over the world there to celebrate with us.
Posted on :
9/11/2011
| By :
Joanna
Happy Enkutatask! (Ethiopian New Year- 2004!)
Yes, you read that correctly.
Enkutatash is the Amharic word for New Year which will be celebrated in Ethiopia on Sunday September 11, 2011. Ethiopia follows the Orthodox Julian Calendar which consists of 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th moth consisting of 4 or 6 days. This means the Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind our Western calendar and it will be the year 2004.
The Madine family will be celebrating by attempting our first Ethiopian coffee ceremony at home, roasting our own beans, burning Frankincense and everything
. You can read more about this very important part of Ethiopian culture
here.
We will also be attending a dinner for adoptive families at our local Ethiopian restaurant.
A couple of weeks ago we attended the 10th Annual Ethiopia Day celebration in Plano. Here’s a great pic of our little Habesha (Ethiopian).
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, enjoying your friends and family, especially on the 10th anniversary of so many losing so much.
Posted on :
8/31/2011
| By :
Joanna
The coffee ceremony is very important in Ethiopian culture. Even after traveling to Ethiopia twice, I realize that I don't know very much about the ritual. I knew it was delicious and a little history, but that was about it. Recently I ran across a few articles, each offering some bits and pieces of info, so I thought I'd share what I've gathered.
History:
Coffee originated in Ethiopia. Legend says that a goat herder from Kaffa noticed his goats were acting very lively after having eat the berries from a bush. He tasted them and felt invigorated, so he took them to the local monastery. The Abbot thought the berries must be evil and threw them in a fire. When he smelled the lovely aroma, he changed his mind and decided they must be from God. That night they sat up drinking the brew and vowed to drink it daily to keep themselves awake during their long devotionals.
Purpose:
Being invited to a coffee ceremony is a sign of friendship and/or respect. Coffee ceremonies are sometimes performed three times a day and can take a few hours. It is an opportunity for friends and family to catch up on local/political events and celebrate special occasions...and drink the best coffee in the world. :)
The Ritual:
The woman of the house (or a younger woman of the house) wears a traditional white dress with colored embroidery along the sleeves and bottom of the skirt. She begins by setting up the room. On the floor she spreads long aromatic grasses and flowers and burns frankincense to ward off evil spirits. She sets up a large tray with rows of small demitasse cups (without handles). She fills the traditional coffee pot, called a jebena, with water and sets it on hot coals.
She washes the green coffee beans in a wok-like pan over hot coals, shaking and stirring them until the husks and debris are shaken free of the beans. Then, in the same pan, she roasts the beans, stirring and shaking the pan constantly until the beans darken and begin to release their oils. The aroma of the bean is a very important part of the ceremony. She carries the pan around wafting the aromatic smoke toward each person. The guests should comment on how wonderful it smells. She then grinds the beans coarsely with tool similar to a mortar and pestal, but are called a mukecha (moo-key-cha) and a zenezena. By this time the jebena is ready. The ground are added to the pot and the mixture is brought to a boil, then removed from the heat. It is now ready to be served.
She prepares to serve by pouring a little coffee into the first cup, then pouring it from one cup to the next cup to warm them up. The grounds have settled to the bottom of the pot and she pours the coffee in a steady stream from a foot above the cups. The goal is to fill all of the cups equally with one pour (without spilling or splashing very much). Women practice this beginning when they are young girls. In many cases the youngest child in the house will serve the first cup to the eldest in the room or the guest of honor. Guests should complement the hostess on her brewing and serving skill. Sugar is typical...and a lot of it, usually already added. The most common snack served is popcorn (no salt or butter). (Coffee and popcorn go really well together). The first brew is similar to espresso. There are typically three brews (called abol, tona, and baraka), with the last being similar to american style coffee. Each cup is said to transform the spirit, but the third cup is a blessing, and the ceremony is not complete until it is consumed.
Here are my sources:
Let me know if I left anything out or didn't mention the meaning behind something.
Posted on :
8/24/2011
| By :
Joanna
I know I haven't been great with the blog posts lately....and I think it's time
to admit that a once a month update might be an achievable goal. :)
Maeve is now 22 months old and doing great. She's sleeping through the night pretty consistently, which is something Mommy and Daddy are happy about, but still getting used to. After months of waking a few times a night...it's strange how a full nights sleep can still leave you feeling tired in the morning. She's had a few rough nights because she has 5 teeth coming in at once. We'll all be glad when that's over.Maeve's food issues are getting better. We're still giving her the night-time bottle (brushing her teeth before bed), and won't be changing that until we feel it's time.
She is talking non-stop...well, she always did that, we just understand a lot of it now. We just love it! She also loves to sing and clap, can count to 13, can identify of the letters. We did an evaluation through our county's early childhood intervention program and she tested well above her age on all levels. I was afraid she wouldn't talk to the therapist, but she was on! When each of them came in, she said. "Hi. Hah you?" (How are you) and showed them her books, etc. She even surprised us with some of the tasks she completed. We're definitely proud parents. :)
She's making progress on potty training, using the potty about 50% of the time. It's just a bit inconsistent between day care and home, but she definitely knows how to do it. Now if she could just tell us more often before she goes :)
Maeve loves going to her "school" (day care). She really likes the teachers and has a few BFFs already. She sometimes names them off and grins and giggles.
We went to Chicago over July 4th and had a great time with Uncle Brian and Aunt Cris.
This is Maeve falling asleep at Starbucks.
We also had the pleasure of attending the 2nd birthday party of Maeve's old roommate in Ethiopia, Lily.
We also attended a huge pool party of Ethiopian adoptive families.
(That's Maeve on the far right- "I thought you said we were going swimming!")
We've also gotten in a few play dates with her good friend, Tsegaw.
I'll try to be better about updating and leave you with one of my favorites.
Making Christmas cookies.
My favorite :)
Enjoying cake!
Singing with friends.
New kitchen from Mommy & Daddy.
This is us at our reception, laughing hysterically at my brother-in-law's speech. I think my cheeks hurt more than my feet by the end of the night. It was such a blessing to have all of our friends and family from all over the world there to celebrate with us.
This is Maeve falling asleep at Starbucks.
We also attended a huge pool party of Ethiopian adoptive families.
(That's Maeve on the far right- "I thought you said we were going swimming!")
0