Keeping it real

Ok, here's the deal. I've had fun getting together these Ethiopian class times, running around with summer activities, and getting new pets (and the kids have enjoyed it for the most part), but I feel somehow that by writing just to tell what we've done or learned or made, that reality is skewed a little. And thinking about this just really bugs me and got me thinking more about transparency, authenticity...all that good stuff. So, yes, I enjoy being "crafty," and I'm a total geeky bookworm, and it may APPEAR (ok, maybe this is a bit presumptuous) that I somehow have it together. Let me assure you all (and I'm sure this is so obvious - esp. to those who see me regularly!) - I DON'T! Yes - I am blessed beyond belief and have much joy in my life, but this past year has actually been one of the (if not THE) hardest years of my life.

There's been a whole lotta pain, a whole lotta crying out to God, and a whole lotta growing pains for both Ross and I - in our adoption, at church, and in our extended family, etc... So digging into books and keeping my mind and body busy the last month has been kinda therapeutic. :) But life is never as perfect as it appears in one picture - or one post. I guess that's all I want to say. As an example....in the last 24 hrs., our air conditioner, food processor, coffee maker, and vacuum cleaner all BROKE. Yep. And the week before that? 5 gallons of fishy salt water overflowed onto Ross' office carpet and the next day probably about 5 more gallons of sink water was discovered dripping into the hallway carpet and through the floorboards onto our kitchen island. :) Fun stuff.

One thing I've learned this year is that life is just too stinking short to focus on the crap - but at the same time, I think it's so important to be REAL! So, that's what this is - just checkin' in, making sure I'm keeping it real.

Lesson #3

*Sorry, long post ahead, but don't miss the videos at the end! :)

Yep, we're already to Lesson #3! This week's lesson focused on language, religion, education, and literature of Ethiopia. We read two little blurbs about religion and education in Enchantment of the World: Ethiopia. (It was published in the late '80's, so is a bit obsolete, but I really liked the short, concise, easy-to-understand way it talked about big subjects.) My plan is to talk more about Christianity's specific influence in a couple of weeks, but we learned this week that Ethiopia has many Muslims, Christians, various traditional religions, and also a few thousand Jewish people, called the Falashas. One point I found intriguing is that the Falashas believed, until they were discovered by the outside world in 1860, that they were the only Jews on earth! They've lived in the northwest part of Ethiopia for about two thousand years and say that they were a "lost tribe" of Israel that broke away from the main group during the Exodus from Egypt. (Some scholars think the Falashas converted later than this, but still before Christ. America is just such a young country - I'm struck by Ethiopia's rich history!)

We also talked briefly about going to school in Ethiopia. It's a priveledge many children don't have because of the poor transportation system and the fact that about 75% of the kids live more than 1/2 a day's walk from a good road. (This was a great spot for me to plug how BLESSED my kids are to be able to go to school...hee hee) The levels of education sound a lot like what we do here - elementary, junior high, high school, and college. We read that not many are able to finish high school and even fewer attend college.

Which brings us to language and literature. One of my favorite parts! We learned that Ethiopia has a very rich oral tradition, and many of their stories have been passed down through generations as a way to communicate their values and beliefs to their kids. Like my friend Meg said in a comment from a previous post, "Often, it has helped me to understand a culture by learning what they teach their children...." I've been just itching to get my hands on so many of these incredible books that have been recommended to me by friends and various websites. Here's a start to my list - I haven't read these because they aren't readily available for check-out at our tiny library, so I need to pace myself in buying and starting our very own collection!

When the World Began, by Elizabeth Laird (A wonderful recommendation from Meg - thank you, my dear!!!! This is #1 on my list - an out-of-print compilation of stories published by Oxford Press. It's on amazon.com and will be my first purchase next month! :)
Fire on the Mountain
The Perfect Orange: A Tale from Ethiopia

We did read a couple of folk-tales from the back of the book I mentioned earlier and we started on American Girl's Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot by Jane Kurtz. It's a story about an Ethiopian girl - one of the books from their Girls of Many Lands series. Another great picture book I found that mentions Ethiopia, but is not specifically about Ethiopia (but that we loved and is definitely worth a read), is Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, by Mary Williams. This book is based on a true story and is an incredible glimpse into the life of young refugees and the power of faith and perserverance.

Ok, if anybody has made it through this insanely long post (sorry - this stuff is fun for me), here's your pay-off. Some hilarious takes of our kids and me attempting to speak Amharic - the national language of Ethiopia. (And we found some good listening samples on YouTube, if you're interested in checking those out.)

This is what we're attempting to say:
Me: Hi!
Kids: Hi!
Me: Can you speak Amharic?
Kids: Yes.
Me: What is your name?
Kids: My name is....
Me: Thank you!
Kids: You're Welcome.
Me: Good-bye
Kids: Good-bye!

Red-Letters Campaign

Have any of you noticed the little red and white RLC blog badges at the bottom of my last few posts? :) I've been meaning to write about the Red-Letters Campaign, but instead of attempting to explain using my own words, check out this video from the RLC site:
http://www.redletterscampaign.com/



Check out the site if you haven't already - there are so many incredible resources, ways to get involved and connected.

Alex

Our kids have been begging for a kitty for a while now and fell in love with a little tabby named Alex who lived at the farm where they have horse class. About a month ago they began telling me about him and asking if I could call and put Alex "on hold" for our family when he'd be ready. I acted really nonchalant about it and I think they kind of gave up, thinking it'd never happen. Little did they know, the day after they told me about him, I called and successfully put Alex "on hold!" This seriously was the hardest secret I've ever had to keep. The best part was that their horse-class teachers were in on the surprise too. Week after week, they'd tell the girls that another family had already reserved Alex - so they'd see him each class, love on him, be totally sad he wasn't theirs, and pretty ticked at me for not calling before "the other family." hee hee.

Well, last week at the end of horse class, their teachers called them into the barn, brought out Alex with a giant ribbon around his neck and said, "Guess what - Alex's new owners are here...and they're YOU GUYS!"

Check out these faces:




On the way home they were like, "Mom, but we don't have any kitty stuff...the litter box, food..." (I was totally playing up the girlie drama here saying, "oh, no...") And when we got home, I surprised them with all of the goods. They were amazed and had no clue I'd been buying and stashing stuff for a month without their knowledge. :)

He's such a sweet little guy. And a great peace offering for having to give our horse Cody back to his previous owner (Which I don't think I blogged about, but was so devastating to the kids. He was just too energetic and independent to be a kid-friendly/beginner horse. It was a tough lesson and I felt horrible. But, live and learn, right?) And it helps that Ann, his owner, gives us updates to let us know he's happy and living it up with his old horse buddies.

So, here he is:



The only problem so far is that there's not 4 of him...

Lesson #2

Today we had lesson #2 for our Ethiopia 101. We tackled learning about clothing, housing, family life, and common professions. First off, we all sat around the computer and watched a couple of videos on YouTube - one was called "Faces of Ethiopia" and the other, "My house in Ethiopia." It was cool to see the beautiful diversity of people and to see first-hand where one family lives. Then we read a few excerpts from these books we found at our local library:

Continent in the Balance: Africa/Ethiopia, by Jim Corrigan
Modern World Nations: Ethiopia, by Carol Ann Gillespie
Enchantment of the World: Ethiopia, by Dennis Brindell Fradin
Cultures of the World: Ethiopia, by Steven Gish

This time around, I wanted the kids to tell one thing they learned from our little class:

Ellie: "I learned that there's also mansions in Ethiopia!"
We learned about the variety of Ethiopian houses, ranging from one-room houses, stone houses, apartment buildings, and luxurious villas.

Josie: "I learned that the fireplaces in their homes are kind of shaped like rainbows!"
We learned that although housing styles vary greatly by region and ethic group, in the countryside, cooking is done in a fireplace in the middle of the house. (And it does kind of look like a rainbow from a certain angle!)

Maggie: "I learned that they make lots of clothes in the city."
We learned that about 90% of Ethiopians make their living from the land (farming crops and raising livestock), but in the city manufacturing textiles is also one of Ethiopia's most important industries.

Miles: "Some kids' parents died in Ethiopia..." (OK, we didn't talk about this today, but it must've been something that stuck with him when talking about orphans. His favorite part today hands down was sticking sticks and coffee beans in the playdough we used to make the fireplace.) :)

Me: I think one of the things that stuck out most to me is the importance of family in Ethiopia. Sometimes families are nuclear - dad, mom, and kids, and sometimes they're multi-generational. The families tend to be patriarchal, elders are shown great respect, and children are given small responsibilities and chores at about age 5.

So today the kids made a little diorama (I think that's the right word.) They were able to incorporate what they learned about traditional Ethiopian dress (and made their own with Ross' old T-shirt), farming, and the look of some homes in the countryside. (There's just typically not two Barbie-ish moms making injera at the same time.) ha ha Here's what they came up with:

Miles invents "the man-band" - a new wave for the headband

"Mom, this is so my hat won't fall off!"

12 years

12 years ago today: