our adoption, part II, ethiopia and siblings

Hello again all, i am back to finish the 2nd part of what is becoming my novella.
First let me start off this post by saying that many of you have the completely wrong idea about Ethiopia, you likely imagine the "we are the world" and famine ads of the late 1980's. This is not the country today, it is slowly moving itself into the 21st century, is a large hub for int'l business, has a huge and soon to be trademarked coffee market, and still retains it's religious and cultural roots. Ethiopians are known for their hospitality, their love of family and their good nature. Ethiopia is considered by many to be the cradle of humanity, the oldest skeleton ever found is from Ethiopia, and on display at the national museum in Addis Ababa. The rock hewn churches of Lalibella are an amazing example of the cruciform church, and an engineering marvel, since they are sunken into the mountain side. Some of the oldest religious paintings still in existence can be found in churches throughout the country undamaged and in unobtrusive places. the country has a vast diversity of climates and regions, with the Red sea where Moses is said to have parted the Sea and walked with his followers in to the country, to the high plateau of Addis itself, and desert dwellers south of the city, there is also the Blue Nile that begins in a high mountain lake, it is this part of the Nile river that causes flooding in the Nile Delta of Egypt every year. Ethiopia's history is a beautiful tapestry of people rising above hardship, and having a great faith, and a deep love of family, that draw us to the country. These are things that draw us, these and the people especially, they love their children and some times the only future they can provide for them is to place the children into care for adoption.
Once in care the children are given a physical, and then placed by age into a group house, where they are doted on and cared for by some very hard working and devoted nurses. The children stay in the care center with other little ones their own age, the younger ones in playrooms and a nursery setting, the preschool age ones actually begin schooling, they start to learn english, they are acclimated to american things, have an american college student to help teach them, and the learn their numbers, letters colors etc, just like an american child. During this time they are being looked after by doctors and nurses, and the social workers search for a suitable family to match with them.
Now to the part that makes so many scratch their heads, why are we requesting siblings. There is no single answer to this question, it is a decision that has many parts, some we are unable to fully explain. Jon first brought up the idea of siblings, we had been discussing the idea of returning to Ethiopia in a few years and adopting again, and how we were going to handle the cost and travel of this. Jon thought it made more sense to adopt two now, and then return in the future together as a family. His thinking was simple, they would have each other for comfort in the first few weeks at home, we would not be able to return to the country any time soon and did not want our kids too far apart in age, and most of all this would allow us to experience both ages that we wanted so badly. So it was decided, after much soul searching, that we would request siblings, an 2-3 year old girl, and an infant. We want Julianna to have a friend in her sister, and Julianna will be a huge learning tool for her little sister and a great helper for her adjustment, and i really want another chance to have an infant. For both Jon and I this just feels right, and we know it will be a lot of work with three kiddos, but we are certain that if we adopted just one right now a part of us would feel like it was missing, the aching emptiness and phantom cries that i hear late at night in my dreams would not be assuaged if we did not bring home a sibling set. This is the part that is the hardest to explain, the soul deep feeling that this is what home will be, when we have all three of our babies in our arms with us.
I am glad that i have written this for all of my family and friends to read, i am hopeful that this will help you understand our vision for our future. For those of you who feel that this was a bit of "soap box preaching" let me say this, Our family is going to stand out, and we are going to attract attention everywhere we go, and so Jon and I, and our children have to be advocates for our family. We have to advocate, protect and promote understanding for our family, and other families like us, but mostly we have to try to raise our children in an environment that allows them to grow strong, and accepting, and proud and so Jon and i preach about Ethiopia and adoption to help those around us better understand, so that they in turn can reciprocate and pass this on to others, and affect change in our little corner of this "global village".