Melissa not Angelina

Of course, everyone asks whether Angelina Jolie inspired us to choose Ethiopia. Truthfully, not at all. If it was anyone, it was Melissa Fay Greene. She's a wonderful writer and her stories about Ethiopian AIDS orphans (starting with one in the NYT magazine and followed by two equally beautiful, heartbreaking ones in Good Housekeeping) that made me think about taking a child from that country. I still get choked up when I go back and read her stories.
We looked briefly at the kids available through Florida's Dept. of Children and Families but quickly realized older, troubled children -- often in sibling groups - were more than we could take on. China was clearly an option, but Ethiopia, the more we read, kept pulling at us. And photos of all those beautiful Ethiopian children sealed the deal.
So sometime in late September, we filled out the application, sent in our first check (me all the time thinking that Jim would change his mind, look up one day and say, "You're doing what?" He didn't, though).
It sometimes felt crazy (I'm going where?), but I was amazed by how this decision we'd made most of the time felt so very right.