Life Video

Mike and I finally watched Birtukan's life video last night. Although it was really awesome to see, it was also very difficult to watch. We were able to see her home town, her birth mom, where her birth mom works and lives, and 'a day in the life' for what her family experiences every day.

My heart not just aches, but it now BURNS for her birth mother. So many painful things in the video that weren't clear from our visit with her that make me sad that I didn't know those things during our visit.

And after watching it, it reminds me why Birdy gets so upset (and not just angry, but physically and emotionally distraught) if she thinks she's not going to get her meal, or if I make her drink her milk first and she thinks that's all for lunch. There's more to that, than being 2yo. She's seen hard things during her life, and I need to just keep reminding myself of her struggles.

I will never forget the last words spoken to me from her Ethiopian mom - "Thank you for what you are doing." So do it right, Jill. Do it Godly. Do it just like her mom would have wanted it done. Do it like Birtukan deserves.

So many people love her.

PS - Just some more info on the life video. There are 3 discs - one is written to open on a computer, one is more general about her life in the orphanage, and one is very specific regarding her life before the orphanage and birth family. The last video is something that we won't show Birtukan until she is older, we are able to easily communicate with her, and she is able to understand and process the video in a healthy way. We feel like these things are Birtukan's private story, and it's her story to share with whomever she wants to when she is old enough to make that decision; so we won't be sharing the private info or pictures from the video with anyone without her permission. Until then, we will keep her videos private and safe for her to watch at a later time.