Pinic, Horses and a Hike

Last weekend we met up with our friend, Annette, and had a picnic in her garden. Spring is finally here and it was awesome to just hang-out outside all day. We went for a walk around her village and she showed me around...we came across some beautiful horses. Sadie was in heaven! Thanks so for such a fun day Annette! On Sunday we went for a hike along the river and find a nice place on some rocks to just relax and refresh ourselves for the week....soaking in the beauty of the Lord. Check out who's wearing a Uganda necklace {Kari}. If you have a photo in one, send it to me! And if you do not have one, get one today they are too awesome. It's amazing how much of a difference a beautiful necklace can make!

My Favorite picture!

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Lifesong

Through my adoption research I came across an amazing ministry called Lifesong who is doing some pretty cool things in 6 different countries. Their mission: "We seek to mobilize the church, His body, where each member can provide a unique and special service: some to adopt, some to care, some to give." I wanted to help get the word out! Below are some of their current projects.

Lifesong Ethiopia 2010 from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

We found many of the students in the Ziway Lifesong School were coming to school hungry and brought no food for lunch. Teachers complained of lack of attention on the students’ part. Lifesong initiated a school feeding program in November, 2009, for all 300 students at the school.

For breakfast each receives fafa, a porridge-like food that provides the nutrients that each growing child needs. The lunch menu rotates through a cycle of fish soup, the national foods of shiro and injera, vegetable beef soup, and pasta.

Now that the Adami Tulu Nursery School has re-opened, Lifesong has also started a similar breakfast and lunch feeding program there.

The Ziway school feeding program, in which 300 children are fed two meals each day, has been very successful. Caregivers, teachers, and the students themselves report that they are much healthier, more attentive in class, and have more muscle and skin tone.

Sustaining the program of feeding each student a nutritious breakfast and lunch at the Adami Tulu School will take additional funding and special logistics. However, if it is God’s will, we know that He will provide what is necessary for the feeding program. On the first day of the feeding program, all students were measured for their height and weight and this data was recorded. Several children were found to be malnourished. Now that we have this statistical data, we intend to monitor the students’ progress.

 

View all current projects. View all Lifesong Ethiopia videos.

In Ethiopia, $3 feeds 1 child for a month! Go here to donate $3!!

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a little adoption update

We are still in the paper-chase phase but we have completed our homestudy interviews! We are glad that, that is finished. Once we get the official home-study approval papers in the next week or so we can apply for different grants and we plan on applying for a lot! We are in crunch time now to get certain fees paid so we can continue to move forward and get this little child that God has chosen for us home! Although we do have the means to welcome another child in our home and to take care of them, we do not have the $1000's for the adoption fees sitting around. Document fees, translation fees, legal fees, medical fees, travel fees...all the very important and needed fees add up fast! We have already been so blessed by your help and we are forever thankful. We are still working on getting one more raffle together. $300+ in giftcards! How cool would it be to win that! Be on the lookout!

I finally got some updated photos of Sadie, see the post before this one. And a fellow adoptive family is doing a giveaway for her upcoming etsy store (that will be open this Friday). Check out their blog and help support their adoption with her beautiful handmade Ethiopian & Korean Bows! Aren't they so adorably cute!

Love,
The Summers Family

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Spring has sprung...My Sadie Lady

A few days ago, I took advantage of the cloudy day and got some new Spring photos of Sadie. I was so excited because we were in need of some summer cloths that fit her (please hurry spring, all Sadie's winter cloths are now too small!) And I came across a place, kind-of like a salvation army, on the exact day and time that it was opening. (its not open all the time). All the cloths were only 1 euro a piece and most of them where still great quality!

I cannot believe that Sadie is already over 2 years old and has such a strong personality. Please slow down little girl, you are growing too fast for me.

Sadie, you do have your way with making your dad and I smiling and laugh. Through sometimes that strong personality has a way about making us praying extra hard for you.

I love how these below show her personality. She is really a crazy little thing and keeps us laughing. I can't wait for her to play with her new little brother or sister, its going to be so sweet.

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Visitors

This last week we had some visitors, though they were kind-of random, English speaking visitors non-the-less. We had our home study interview for the adoption and our social worker (who is an American citizen but lives and works out of Germany) brought along his wife for a mini get-away. The interview went well and we were also able to meet his wife and show them around Corte. She loves pottery so we went to a local potter that we have met though friends. The owner is in his mid-80's and still going strong...its that Corsican Cheese! The guy you see making the pottery is his son. We had a great time getting to know Randy and his wife. Please pray that God will continue to confirm His lead in the adoption with an smooth approval!

Next we met up with a lady who I met through the blog world. When we first got to Corsica I was doing research trying to learn more about it and came across her blog. She was actually raised in South American because her family from Corsica migrated there. But she has been in Florida since she was 18. She still has relatives here in Corsica and loves to come and visit. She started a blog about traveling here and it has a lot of really helpful information. While she was here, she took us to visit a near by river and to see see some waterfalls. Then we met up with our friendAnnette who owns a Bed & Breakfast in a near by village. Despite the rain, it was a great day getting to know her and her friend. (who is Italian but looks German!)

An old Shepard's house...

Gotta love him...

Poor Sadie, we just tug her along where ever we go!

though she was a bit scared at the sounds of the water rushing...can you see them waiting for us back on the rock?

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links i love

ROOM FOR ONE MORE BLOGSPOT: A fellow adoptive family needs our help. They are adopting 2 precious girls with down syndrome from Eastern Europe, where adoption for these two girls is a matter of life a death. If the orphans who have special needs in eastern Europe do not get adopted, they get moved to a mental institution... an insane asylum... and they spend the rest of their life in a crib. For orphans with special needs, this is a death sentence because they will not get medical care when they are in a mental institution, and with inadequate food & inadequate interaction with other human beings, they don't often have a long life after being transferred. Although the family does have room and the money needed to raise more children they do not have the $30,000 just sitting around to pay all the adoption fees to get the girls home. The post I linked up above is very moving, its a long but worth the time!

Great Mother's Day Necklace!
Tom Davis, HopeChest and www.adoptionfather.com partner together to help stop sex trafficing in Russia. Check out Tom Davis' trip to Moldova, he was shown the 'cafe' known for hubbing girls. "In fact, they're here right now. And so are the girls who are being trafficked. They lure girls here for a job. Then they are sent to Turkey, Israel, and Russia." Let's Pray. They need our help.
"We are excited to announce today the beginning of a partnership between adoptionfathers.com and Children's HopeChest to "Break the Chain" of sex trafficking and orphanhood in Eastern Europe. We have launched a Mother's Day necklace to bring you the Love Goes Around necklace. When you buy this necklace for your mother, wife, sister, or daughter, proceeds will support the women in the video you saw and help victims of sex trafficking in Moldova

I do not know what I would do if my baby girl had to go through either one of those horrors. Lord, keep opening our eyes to how we can help girls near and far.

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An Egyptian Meal

My first Egyptian Meal! Samuel and Mina came over and cooked a very traditional lunch for us. Lunch is the main meal in Egypt is eaten around 2ish and then a light dinner maybe around 8ish. A lot like it is here in France, something I have had to get used to. I was a bit nervous when they wanted to make somethign but then I found out it was mainly carbs...how can you go wrong? Here's the recipe if you are feeling international for dinner:

Koushari

Depending on how many you are cooking for, about a cup of lentils, cup of elbow macaroni, a cup of rice and a can of chickpeas. Cook all as normal adding salt to the lentils if you like but for the rice: Heat 2 tb olive oil in a sauce pan, add the rice and cook for 3 min. coating all pieces. Add 2 cups of water and heat until the water begins to boil. Cover the saucepan and simmer until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.
Slice an onion and saute in1/4 c olive oil, stiring until they are brown and crispy (if you like them that way). Spoon lentils, then rice, then macaroni, then chickpeas, top with a tomato sauce of your choice and onions! Yum!

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