A new year in Ethiopia

I woke up on New Year's Day incredibly stuffed.  One must hit the rewind button to figure out why.

Angie and I visited her Dad and Step-mom at a great little sports bar in Maple Grove called 'The Lookout.'  It's everything you'd expect from a once-small-town-to-now-thriving-suburb sports bar.  The Lookout is named such, because it sits on a hill.  Creativity at its best.  It also used to sit in a swamp, but the swamp has been recently filled with McMansions, so it has that going for it.  It apparently has a great view of Minneapolis from it's perch, but it was frigid outside, and I've seen Minneapolis before.

Being a sports bar, the Lookout served a very brown meal.  I choose the Broasted Chicken and Ribs option, with a side of mashed potatoes.  There was a small salad bar, and they had a wonderful selection of iceberg lettuce and toppings (bacon bits, eggs, french dressing, etc.)  Later on in the evening, they had a free snack bar, to get people through to New Year's.  The bar included swedish meatballs, hotdogs, fried chicken, etc. 

Please notice the lack of ruffage in this meal.

So I woke up full, and the first thing I thought of was Ethiopia.

Since our decision was made to focus primarily on Ethiopia for our path to parenthood, I  have kept an eye on whatever news briefs I can on our future child's country.  Of concern was a report that Ethiopia will most likely experience a major famine starting this year, as they have been in the midst of a terrible drought.  As is the case, the Minister of Truth in Ethiopia, or the Disaster Prevention Minister (what he is normally titled), came out and issued a statement that everything is fine, move along.  Sure people are hungry, but not THAT hungry.

So, I said a prayer for Ethiopia and it's people.  I have no idea how this famine will affect our chances of adopting, or the war that is constantly bubbling up with Eritrea, but I said a prayer for the people of Ethiopia.