FUN

It's been so long since we posted i thought i would post a few pictures of pre-Christmas activities.

Mamush seems to like Christmas.  He jumped right in during the tree decoration and enjoyed adding lots of sprinkles to the cookies.

Great Grandma

Tonight was our Wednesday night kids ministry...Transformation Kids. As a special Christmas party we took all twenty-five kids caroling at two retirement buildings close to the church. The kids loved it and the retired Grandmas and Grandpas loved it as well.....especially my Grandma. Below is a picture of my Grandma Bertram during the caroling event, who is a Great-Grandma to my kids also in the picture. What an incredible blessing for my children to love and enjoy two Great Grandmas and two Great Grandpas still alive and full of energy, life, and love. Some don't have the blessing of time with their Grandparents, let alone a Great Grandparent. Here's to many more Christ-Filled Christmas celebrations for my children and their Great Grandparents!



Christmas Tree

We have not blogged in awhile so i thought I would add some photos and let everyone know we are still here.  Our time since returning from Ethiopia has busy and exciting. 

Mamush loves the outdoors.  We went to my parents house to cut down our own tree.  The kids helped dad find the perfect tree as mom drove the truck to meet them with their prize tree. 

Mamush has embraced the holiday season and we feel so blessed to have him home with us. 

Firsts, Firsts, and More Firsts!

Today we went to Walgreens....Mamush's first trip to a store. We purchased Christmas Lights and remote control trucks for Danny and Mamush. After that we went to church as a family...another first for Mamush. Hanging the lights (see photo below) again a first. It seems as if the list of firsts for this little guy is endless. As I think through the last week and a half the list is staggering:

Airport, Airplane, Escalator, Elevator, Brother, Sisters, Many other Relatives, Elementary School, Dad's Truck, Mom's Van, DVD in the van, Hunting Trips, Dead Deer, Christmas Parade, Candy thrown everywhere, Snow, New Dog, Trampoline, Christmas Lights, Fish Bowl, Etc.

good read

This  woman is amazing and I love her passion and what she has to share with the world.
Check out her blog and maybe even buy a shirt for a loved one for christmas.  It will help a child and need and raise awareness.
http://oatsvallteam.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-are-you-waiting-for.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OatsvallTeam+%28Oatsvall+Team%29

lacey

Finish Line!!

We are happy to report that we are home safe and sound with Mamush, and are now a family of 6!

  

We were so blessed by a huge welcoming committee at the airport, and were greeted first by Elli, Averi, and Daniel! So many emotions!

Ethiopia was again an amazing experience. So happy Lacey was able to go this time. We loved the culture, the food, and the people.She was able to meet our dear friends from the guest house, Tamrat, Gecho, and Aramais! Words can't explain how those three loved us and Mamush and cared for us while we were there. We miss them already!

More Coming Soon

At the airport...headed to Ethiopia!

We are flying out this morning!

The Day has arrived!

We were informed today we need to be in Addis Abba on Monday November 13th for our November 14th embassy appointment!!!!!!
Excited, panicked, rushed and much much more.
Thank you all who have been praying for us and those who have supported our adoption financially.  We feel so loved and blessed.  

We know we will have plenty of adjustments ahead and are thankful we will have The Lord by our side as he has been this whole process.

I am feeling a little anxious to leave our three bio kiddos.  They will be with family and Our family babysitter, but it is very hard for this mamma.  I cant wait for all my children to be in one place.  It seems I am always missing someone.  I have never been away from my bio kids for more than 3 days so I will miss them tons. 

We hope to update everyone when it is possible.

Only a Few Shirts Remain....Get Yours Today!

We have a few shirts left that we are trying to get rid of before flying to Ethiopia in the next week or so. Sizes and colors are as follows. E-mail us @ bertraml@sd5.k12.mt.us if you are interested. (Adult Sizes $22, Youth $16)

Men's (Charcoal shirt / White Design)
1 Small
1 Medium
1 XLarge

Woman's (Black Shirt / White Design)
1 XSmall
1 Small
1 Large
1 XLarge

Woman's (Black Shirt / Turquoise Design)
1 XLarge

Youth/Kids (Black Shirt / Turquoise Design)
1 Small
1 Medium
1 Large

Youth/Kids (Red Shirt / Black Design)
1 4T
1 Small
1 Medium

BEST NEWS EVER!

We received the best news ever this morning...We are cleared to pick-up Mamush in Ethiopia!! We are frantically putting together travel plans and should be home with him before Thanksgiving. Thanks to all for all of the prayers and support!

Part of the e-mail we received this morning:

AMERICAN EMBASSY

ENTOTO STREET

P.O. BOX 1014

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Dear International Adoption Guides  Agency    
Date:08 November  2011

This office is ready to schedule an interview for the I-600 petition filed on behalf of the below applicants.

Prayers For a Mom

Please join us in prayer this evening as Mamush's birth mother attends the US Embassy birth parent interview in Addis Ababa. I can't imagine how she is feeling and how hard it must be for her to again go before some type of government authority and explain how she has no means to care for her/our child.

Dear Lord,

 Please cover Mamush's mom in Your love and peace, give her courage and help her to be strong through this process. Hold her heart near to You and allow her healing as she finalizes this difficult decision.

In Jesus Name....Amen

Thankful for Orphan Sunday!

Thankful today for the opportunity to share some information and a video for Orphan Sunday today in church. Also very thankful that God has opened ours eyes and hearts to the cause of the fatherless. We love you Mamush!

Orphan Sunday Prayer

Dear Father,

On this Orphan Sunday, we join with Your people across our country and beyond to pray for orphans.

We know that love for these precious children begins not with us, but with You. You pursued us when we were wayward and alone. You adopted us as your children. You invite us to address you as Daddy and to live as Your sons and daughters. Truly, we love because You first loved us. 

You tell us also that You are near to the downtrodden and destitute. Your heart aches for children that face the world alone. You champion the cause of those who have no one else to take their side. And You call us to do the same.

So we pray that You would rouse us to share your heart. We ask that You would stir Your people to passion and vision and action on behalf of children that have no family.

We lift up to You the millions of children in the world who have lost their parents to disease, to war, to addiction, to poverty, to abandonment. As You promise to do, place the lonely in families. Be their defender, their provider, their hope and peace. Help us to do the same.

We pray also for the five hundred thousand children in our foster system in America. So often, they are bounced from home to home, knowing little love, consistency or true nurture. Please be their love, their consistency, their nurture. Help us to do the same.

We confess that we have often lived with little regard for these precious lives. Please forgive us. Lead us to take up their cause, not in guilt or obligation, but as a joyful response to Your great love for us.

As we do, we pray that You would use our humble response to transform. To transform the lives of countless orphans both physically and spiritually. To transform us as we encounter You in them. To transform Your Church as we lift our eyes beyond our own comfort and self-focused religion to live out the painful beauty of the Gospel. And finally, to transform a watching world as it catches glimpses of Your love made visible through the actions of Your people.
We commit all this to You, the One who is both our Father and a Father to the fatherless, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thankful for TIme

Late post for Saturday..

Today i am thankful for Time.  Casey and I have a huge to do list of things WE feel like WE need to get done before we travel to Ethiopia to pick up Mamush.  Notice I said WE.  This list is full of things that aren't necessary but that WE WANT to accomplish. 

Bringing home an older child means he will notice more than an infant would.  Everything will be new to him and he will be overwhelmed.    We are going to have little time when we get home to do much of anything let alone accomplish any projects.   We will be transitioning our whole family. Our bio children will have just spent a week away from us for the first time and they will need lots of attention when we return. Mamush will be transitioning to a new culture, new house, new family, ( with a dog) and the list goes on and on.  Please pray for our transition.  We well aware of the challenges that face us as we both work with children who have and are overcoming many obstacles in life.  This will be the best and hardest thing we have ever done, and need all of your support.


So WE crossed a lot of things off our list today.

1. Painted boys room. 
2. An outside window project ( don't remember what its called) ha ha
3. Winter clothing out and sorted.
4. Christmas things handy and accessible
5. One suit case packed with donations for the care center
6. Cleaned craft/ stage rooms
7.  DINNER OUT TOGETHER ALONE. 

LACEY

Apples

Thankful today for our apple tree!

We neglected our tree in the back yard for ten plus years. Each fall as I cleaned up fallen wormy apples I kicked myself for not spraying the tree. This summer we had the tree sprayed and have so enjoyed the awesome harvest of big beautiful apples.

Apple crisp, apple sauce, fruit leather, apple rings, and today gallons of apple cider!

Thank you Lord for your creation and for our apple tree!

Thankful for Technology

Today I woke up to new pictures of Mamush.  It is amazing to me that across the world another adoptive family is uploading photos and I can view them instantly. As Mr. Bertram will tell you I know little about technology and admit that I am challenged in this area.  Viewing pictures I have mastered in this adoptive process. 

So today I am thankful for modern technology so that I am able to see pictures of my son the day after they were taken.  Thanks to all those traveling families who continue to upload pictures and email me about my boy.

I love that he has all the things we have sent in his bags still and he gets them out and looks at us.
Warms my heart. 
OH and notice the new hair cut.
LACEY

Thankful For Access to Medicine

Tuesday I had to take Averi to the doctor for ear pain. I am fortunate to live 5 min. away from our doctors office and was able to walk in and get her right in with our favorite FNP (Mr. Willcut).  She did in fact have an ear infection and we were off to fill her prescription. 

We as Americans are so fortunate to be able to get medical treatment when we need it.  Often as Americans we complain about our health care.
1. It cost too much for co pay.
2. We don't like our insurance plans.
3.  I had to wait too long to see doctor.
4.  I had to wait for a prescription to be filled.

Our son lives in a country where Medicine and doctors aren't 5 min away and most people can't afford treatment.  He lives in a country with no chip or medicaid plan.

Today I am thankful for insurance and for access to quality affordable health care.



Thankful

In the month of November we would like to share what we as a family are thankful for.

We have so much to be thankful for Its hard to just share one a day.


Today we are thankful for a warm house.  Our house is not large, but God has still not called us to get a bigger one.  As we grow as a family of six this year we will have to make some adjustments, but still feel like this is the home God wants us in.  We are Thankful for the home we have and the wonderful neighborhood we live in.

                                               (picture taken by a bertram child)

Almost Home!

We received some great news this morning. The US Embassy has asked our agency to schedule a birth parent interview, which usually signals the end of the process. They are not asking for anything new in terms of paperwork so the birth mom interview should be our final step. Our agency is working on those arrangements and we can realistically again put a timeline to this process. We are anticipating having Mamush home around Thanksgiving....Praise the Lord!

Birthday

Today is Mamush's BIRTHday. According to his birth mom he is 5 years old today. I hope she is celebrating in her own way. I wonder if he knows it's his birthday? We had to change his birhday to july when the US embassy decided he was age 6 or 7 years old. We chose to change months so that he will be able to attend kindergarten when he has transitioned to being home. This day is very special to me. Mamush happy birthday. we love you so much.
Lacey

Kisses From Katie....Wow!

In the front door!

After 17 weeks of waiting after passing court in Ethiopia our file has successfully been submitted and initially accepted by the US Embassy. Not sure yet what else they will ask for moving forward, however, we are in the front door and once step closer to our son! Cherishing the small victories.....God is faithful and just!



One small step forward

On Wednesday we were told that our agency now has our much needed sibling document in hand.  Next step translation.  We would love for everyone to join us in prayer this week for a speedy and accurate translation, and that the US Embassy will accept our document next Wednesday October 5th. 

Mamush's new look.

We had heard a couple of weeks ago that Mamush had been to the eye doctor.  We have known since the beginning of this process that Mamush would need medical follow up on his eyes. The glasses look a little big but I bet he's stoked to see things more clearly. Miss Him!

Waiting.............

We recently learned that we aren't actually officially submitted to the US Embassy. The Embassy reviewed our paperwork and turned it back to our agency saying they needed another document clarifying whether Mamush has siblings. Our paperwork from the court said he does not, however, the Embassy for whatever reason wants additional documentation of that fact. The frustrating part is our agency knew this three weeks ago and is just now sending a social worker to the village where Mamush's mom lives to get the required documentation. That document will then need to be translated which delays the process even more. We are unsure how many of these final stumbling blocks we will encounter. We are no longer even discussing timelines because every timeline that we've had has been wrong.

Our excitement and anticipation has unfortunately turned into frustration and anger. I pray with the girls every night before bed...and our prayers always end with a petition to the Lord to be with our son and keep him safe and happy while he waits. Recently those prayers have turned into pleas for the Lord to intervene and bring him home soon. It breaks our hearts knowing it has been over 16 weeks since our court, and a year since we started this journey. Our son has seen so many children come and go from the care center while he waits...and waits.

In the midst of the frustration and anger I ran across the verse below and was convicted:

 Romans 5:3-5

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Lacey and I have felt all along this was a "God thing." God loves adoption and cares for the fatherless. The waiting will be worth it. God has a masterful plan. 

Lord God, Help us to be patient in this waiting and suffering...help us to glorify you through all aspects of this adoption. Love and care for our Son! AMEN



Back To School

Bittersweet return to school this fall. Very excited to have Elli and Averi at my school this year! Very excited to have Daniel starting Pre-K! Very disappointed and sad not to have Mamush here yet to join his siblings in the excitement of the "First Day"! Mamush will join kindergarten hopefully later this fall and I will be able to complete the posting of the Bertram first day photos.