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Nephew Isaiah

Last week at our vacation bible school Lacey snapped this photo as my nephew, Isaiah, wore the same red fundraiser t-shirt. Too cute....had to post!

Rendezvous

Every year Lacey's parents host a black powder rendezvous at their house. Yes, I know this sounds very back woods and hillbilly, so let me set the record straight....it definitely is! Around 100 men, women, and children running around in traditional clothing, camping in traditional wall tents and tipi's, shooting black powder rifles and pistols, throwing tomahawks and knives, etc. etc. etc. It is a BLAST and my family loves this weekend each year. My in-laws attend a few rendezvous each year but we normally only make it to the one they host. In addition to all that is mentioned above they also have a great pig roast feast, shoot a candy cannon for the kids to retrieve, have tug-o-war, egg toss, and other games to play. My personal favorite is the frying pan toss, a women-only event where they toss a cast iron frying pan as far as possible. I love the competitions (black powder and hawk/knife courses), and although I rarely place anywhere near the top it is great fun and a change of pace from the norm.

This year we decided that our Ethiopian traditional clothing was perfect for the event and we received many compliments and had the opportunity to share our hearts for adoption as well as share the stories of the fantastic people we have met in Ethiopia. We received nothing but genuine warm wishes and positive comments from this very conservative and white "mountain man" group of people.

Ethiopian Feast

As we are in the final countdown of weeks/months prior to Mamush coming home we decided we better wrap our arms around Ethiopian cuisine. While in Addis at the beginning of the summer we found that Mamush would only eat the authentic foods. Although he did try french fries, it was only if he could pick them up and eat them with injera...too cute! We know that he will adapt to American cuisine, but to help with the transition and to embrace his culture we have decided to learn to make a few of the favorites and introduce our kids/family to the food before he arrives. Hopefully that will avoid some awkward "this is yucky" comments from our existing children at the table when Mamush is here. We have been curiously following the blog topic of injera...some have perfected the art...some are failing miserably...and some have resorted to just ordering it online. We too have chosen to just order it online for now. It is reasonably priced and can be frozen for future use. Along with the injera we also ordered some ethiopian coffee, berbere spice, korerima spice, and wot kimen spice. With those staples we will attempt to share a feast with family and friends in the coming weeks consisting of:

• Doro Wot (Red Chicken Stew)
• Kik Wat (Red Lentil Stew)
• Beef Tibs
• Injera and Coffee

Mamush enjoying injera and wot

Garage Sale

As many know I am not much for garage sales, while Lacey on the other hand, lives and breathes garage sales and rarely misses a Saturday morning. Today started our garage sale adoption fundraiser and it was a huge success! Thanks to our many, many friends and family who donated things, stopped buy to visit and purchase a few things, helped us set up, and provided us much needed tents and tarps for the rain. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by support throughout this adoption process. This has been a God thing from the start and that continually gets reinforced each and every day as the pieces come together through His blessing on this process. Jesus loves and care for orphans and we feel so honored to forge ahead in this calling. One more day of our sale tomorrow....pray for dry skies...and thanks again to all for their tremendous support of this event!

MOWA Letter BABY!

Great news today....The MOWA letter arrived and was processed in court...We have officially passed the court process in Ethiopia and the final stage of Embassy paperwork and process begins....YAHOO! Still optimistic that we may be traveling before school starts in August!

Court Trip to Ethiopia

It has been a whirlwind since returning from Ethiopia last weekend. School is now out and the jet lag has finally let up its grasp on me. I finally feel that I am able to share all that we experienced in Africa. First of all, Mamush is an amazing little boy! He is full of energy, affectionate, sweet, inquisitive, and very bright. I was so pleased to see his terrific grasp of the English language, as well as his academic skills. I felt guilty and sad that I didn't know more of his language as he speaks Amharic, Tigrino and English.

 The care center was a wild place....such a blessing to have so many caring staff there to assist with all of those kids! We have been seeing pictures of the care center and kids for months and my first impression when actually walking into the place was, WOW....this place is tiny! Everything is much smaller in person...the house...the furniture...the kids...the courtyard...everything. Given the intense poverty just outside the doors of the care center I am so thankful for Mamush and the others that have the opportunity to find forever families, and live safely until that forever day in a caring environment.

My mother-in-law, Mary, was able to make the trip with me. She went with Matt, my brother-in-law, on his court trip last year as well. She makes the sad trips where we meet and leave the kids, while the Moms and Dads travel on the Embassy trip to pick up the kids. Such a blessing to have her with me as this was her second trip and she knew all the ropes. On their first trip they built some incredible friendships with the men and woman who work in and run the guesthouse where we stay. I heard many stories about these amazing people and was very excited to meet them. I was not disappointed as they are truly amazing friends! The kind of friends that you meet and it quickly feels like you have known and loved them forever.

The court experience was nothing like I anticipated. First we waited in a hot and stuffy waiting room which was packed full of adoptive parents as well as birth parents who were waiting to give up their children in court. We were called as a group, everyone from our agency who had court that day, into a small office where the judge sat across from us at her desk. She asked a few short questions of me and it was over. Our MOWA letter had not arrived so we haven't officially passed court yet. Once that letter arrives in the court all of our paperwork will be sent to the US Embassy for their portion of the process. 

We are hoping and praying for a quick turnaround as it was very difficult to leave Mamush. The day we were leaving I told Mamush I would be back in three mensas (that's how he says months). He got a big grin on his face and replied, "No....One Mensa." I LOVE YOU MAMUSH!

Proudly Introducing Mamush Casey Bertram!

Leaving Ethiopia

I am posting for the first time.  My husband is the blogger in the family and he does such a great job, that I have never joined in but just enjoyed his efforts. 
We had court yesterday and our side of it went well.  Our MOWA letter was not there however.  MOWA letters are late to the court date from time to time so this is not specific to our case.  We now wait for them to present it to court, get a new court date to be finalized, and then our papers can be submitted to the US embassy. Please join us in prayer that this is a speedy process. Our agency said that we may post his name and picture at this time.  We are so happy to be one step closer, even if the steps are small.
Casey and my mom will be leaving Ethiopia today.  My heart is sad as I know leaving Mamush there will be very difficult for all. Lord please help Mamush to understand we WILL be back to get him. The kids and I at home are so excited to hear about the days in Ethiopia and all about our little Mamush. Its so amazing how you can love somone so much that you have never met.  Once God places that call on your heart that child will forever be a part of you.   

LACEY