Homestudy Interview Complete

Our homestudy interview and visit is complete...yay!

Now it is on to:

• the I-600A forms...check,
• passport application/renewal paperwork...check,
• second part of our CHSFS application...almost,

Two out of three isn't bad :)

New Sea in Ethiopia

Is a new sea forming in Ethiopia? Kind of...but it will take another million years or so for it to fully form.

"A Crack Opens in the Ethiopian Landscape, Preparing the Way for a New Sea"

From Discover

November 4th, 2009 11:07 AM

by Eliza Strickland

In 2005, the earth cracked open in Ethiopia. Two volcanic eruptions shook the desert, and a 35-mile-long rift opened in the land, measuring 20 feet wide in some places. Now a new study adds weight to the argument that the opening of this crack marks the first step in the formation of a new sea that may eventually separate East Africa from the rest of the continent. Says lead researcher Atalay Ayele: “The ocean’s formation is happening slowly, likely to take a few million years. It will stretch from the Afar depression (straddling Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti) down to Mozambique” [ABC News].

The study, to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, explains that the seismic movements observed in Ethiopia are very similar to the changes wrought by faults and fissures on the seafloor, where the processes that move tectonic plates usually begin.

Seismic data from 2005 shows that the rift opened in a matter of days. Dabbahu, a volcano at the northern end of the rift, erupted first, then magma pushed up through the middle of the rift area and began “unzipping” the rift in both directions, the researchers explained in a statement today. “We know that seafloor ridges are created by a similar intrusion of magma into a rift, but we never knew that a huge length of the ridge could break open at once like this” [LiveScience], says study coauthor Cindy Ebinger.

The active volcanic region in Ethiopia’s Afar desert sits at the boundary of the African and Arabian tectonic plates, which have been gradually spreading apart for millions years; the new study shows that large-scale seismic events can speed up that process. The gradual separation has already formed the 186-mile Afar depression and the Red Sea. The thinking is that the Red Sea will eventually pour into the new sea in a million years or so [LiveScience].

Winners & Highest Bidders

PACKER PACKAGE RAFFLE:

Don Colllins

BLOODY MARY RAFFLE:

$5 per card 52 cards to be sold. Winner drawn when all cards are sold. Available at Archie’s Pub.

SILENT AUCTION:

Pink Flamingo – Craig Bartlett

Jagy Deer Mount – Jeff Hansen

Go Fish – Melissa Huizenga

Jack – Jeremy Rezek

Golf – Terry Hoffman

Packer Backer – Laurie Otto

Midnite Blue – Liza Quigley

Up Nort – Terry Hoffman

A Women’s Work is Never Done – Christine Gilson

Rocks of Ages – Maureen Barbacovi

Looking Good – Nick Gilson

BUCKET RAFFLES:

Bugs – Laurie Otto

Wine & Dine – Craig Bartlett

On Wisconsin – Laurie Otto

Color my World – Laurie Otto

Fore – Katie Friese

HD-Orange – Hilaire Tordeau

Play Ball – Craig Bartlett

Grill it Green & Gold – Terry Hoffman

Game Time – Mary Humphrey

Rosie Glow – Terry Hoffman

Gingerbread – Jean Neufeld

Nine Lives – Michelle Burchite

All About Me – Theresa Vande Walle

Man’s Best Friend – Jean Neufeld

Big Dog – Mary Humphrey

Remember When – Dennis Wiskow

Choo Choo – Laurie Otto

Wet Your Whistle – Laurie Josephson

Harvest – Karen Hornick

Results

Results from our fundraiser are still coming in as we are waiting to find out how much the food percentage will be. We should learn that later this week. Winners and highest bidders were announced at Archie's last night beginning at 4p. If you were the highest bidder or a winner of an item you were contacted last night. Congratulations to all the winners. Thank you to everyone. I wish you could all have won but please know that your donation will be put to good use and will help give two children a forever loving home.

For all of you curious people out there like me, I will post the winners/highest bidders here mid-week. But for now...

On to the thank you's:

The BIGGEST THANK YOU goes to my mother, Carey, who did everything to make this event the tremendous success it was. Thank you mum for your support of our adoption, for your wiliness to to listen to me whine when things have been tough through this journey and for your huge heart and generous nature that led you find a way to ease the financial burden of this adoption. You are my hero...I love you!

A BIG thanks to MoMo and Peter down at Archie's for all they've done to make this possible. For the use of their pub, for their donation of a portion of all the food sales, and for their bids on some of our silent auction items.

Thank you to Melissa in Green Bay, WI for donating many baskets for our bucket raffles and for all the gorgeous jewelry for the silent auction. Thank you also for all your help the night before and the day of our event.

Thank you to Jean in Green Bay, WI for the use of her raffle buckets and frames.

Thank you to everyone who sold tickets for us. You guys were animals!

To Michele for putting the matching funds on my radar and for doing all the leg work required to make it happen and thank you to the Southern Brown County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for approving our application.

Thank you to all our friends and family who contributed to our fundraiser in some way. Whether through donating, bidding, purchasing, praying, volunteering, or many other ways, you are all amazing and we could not have done it without you!

To all of our new friends we met yesterday, thank you for your support. You are amazing people!

Thanks to JJ, Brad and family (bethe7percent.blogspot.com) who stopped in to meet us face to face (while email is awesome, it is not the same as seeing friends in person). Thank you for your support as well. And most especially, CONGRATULATIONS on your referral and acceptance of two beautiful children! May God continue to bless you all.

To anyone I may have missed - there is a longer thank you list coming, but until then - THANK YOU! We are truly blessed to know such wonderful people as you. We will never be able to truly express how much we are indebted to you all...how much your support and financial contributions mean to us...just know that we will continue to thank you and God for the rest of our days!

Now for the results to date:

Drum roll please....

As of this morning, including the matching funds but minus the portion of food sales, the total funds raised by all you amazing people is $5,000!

Yes, you read that correctly FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS toward the adoption of two children!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Fundraiser

Please join us on Sunday, November 8 starting at 12 noon at Archie's Pub on the corner of N. Michigan St. and George St. in De Pere for our adoption fundraiser.

The Packer Package Raffle (2 tickets to the Packers/Ravens game on December 7, an overnight stay at Aloft Hotel on December 7, a $75 gift certificate to Red Robin, and an official Packers jacket and hat) drawing will be held on the 8th at 4:00 pm. Tickets may be purchased for $20 at Archie's Pub or email for more information on purchasing tickets.

In addition to silent auction items and bucket raffles, a portion of all food sales will go to our adoption. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is providing matching funds for this event.

No charge to get in and just for showing up you will be entered to win a door prize. Other than the door prize you need not be present to win any of the items. For a sneak preview of some of the items, click here.

Come enjoy some great food, cold drinks, a Packers win (or loss, depending on you preference) and raise money for the adoption of two children from Ethiopia!

Archie's Pub

600 George St.

De Pere, WI 54115

Phone: 339-5100

Thank you!

The Southern Brown County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has supplied matching funds to a portion of our adoption fundraiser to be held at Archie's Pub on the corner of Superior St. and George St. in De Pere (more information to follow).

A huge thank you to Thrivent and the member of the chapter board that approved our application. Thank you also to Michelle Burhite for all of her hard work and help.

Thank you Jesus for blessing us with such wonderful people!

Homestudy Interview

Our homestudy interview with LSS is scheduled for November 18, 2009!

Next up: Second part of our CHSFS paperwork.

PRAISE BE TO GOD!