I don't know if I can take any more of this.  This waiting.  This not knowing anything.  This--well, you know:  the uncertainty.

We are in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia, in Africa.  Her name's Tirpe; she's six years old and is in need of a family/home of her own. 

We've been trying over a year to get this particular child.  Just when we think we are getting ahead, we run into more beaurocratic hullabaloo, more red tape that we can't seem to untangle ourselves from. 

We figured that since she's disabled (born paralyzed from the waist on down, negotiates on crutches for mobility), it'd be a lot easier; however, this is not proving to be the case.  It's been over a year now, and she is still in limbo--and we are growing more discouraged with each passing day.

Tirpe is a beautiful little girl with light red/orange hair, cafe-au-lait colored skin, and a smile that can light up the room.  She is absolutely adorable; since seeing her picture we've fallen in love with her, and we already consider her our daughter, even though she's not here  yet.

Tirpe's early life is sketchy at best.  We don't know if her parents abandoned her, if they died, or what, or what caused her condition.  She could have had rickets, polio, been in an accident:  any number of things could have contributed to her paralysis.

Just because she's disabled, that doesn't mean our daughter-to-be is any less of a person.  We love her just as she is; we don't really see her disabilities.  All we see is a child who is in need of love, hope, and a chance to succeed in life.  Nothing more.

Well, the phone is ringing.  Maybe it's the adoption agency calling to tell us that our daughter will be joining the family.  We can only hope; this waiting's been going on for far too long!  We are more than ready to bring her home and love her!

We will keep you abreast of Tirpe's situation as things warrent.  Stay tuned!

~Beatrice Deanne Goldberg, Bowling Green, Kentucky.