5 came to visit....7 left!

What a wonderful time this weekend has been...and it is not even over yet...we still have the sweet company of my parents until Tuesday.

If you have been keeping up with my blog since at least January, then you will remember a dear family that we have had the pleasure of meeting (thanks to my sister in law, Michelle) who used to live in Ethiopia but now live in Seattle. "Bea" as I know her best, made her first trip out of Seattle to come visit us in Yakima! She brought her two daughters, Promise and Gloria, and her dear friend's kids, Aaron and Ruth. I would lie if I told you that it never got crazy...but it was crazy fun and I am so thankful for their friendship and greater still...to call Bea a sister in the Lord!

She encouraged my son, Samuel's, heart greatly as she spent time conversing with him in Amheric. We were able to have her ask questions to him that we have wanted to know but couldn't ask him ourselves. We found out that he is so glad to be with our family (praising the Lord for that!), he loves his bike and skateboard and he wants to grow up and be a doctor so that he can buy a car for his (birth) mom and so that she can be taken care of. (I'll post my thoughts on that later...on what it is like to be a child's mom who also has a mom that he loves very much...I need some more time to keep processing it). His face lit up and the Amheric flowed as he talked...and it was beautiful and sad all at the same time for me to watch. Beautiful to see him so animated, sad to know that he is so limited in expressing all that is in his heart and head with us! This is a season of life for him and us...and, like any, there are precious joys and painful hurts too!

I also learned some things that I would not have if it were not for Bea and her watchful eye and knowledge of Ethiopian culture. She read a letter that I had from the boy's birth mother (another thing to share later)and I found out that she was from the EXACT same town that Ruth and Aaron's mom (the kids visiting us) grew up in. That, in and of itself, was just amazing as Ethiopia is a pretty big country! I am looking forward to talking to her about what life was like growing up there in hopes of learning more about what life must have been like for their birth mom as she grew up.

Also, Caleb has this funny little dance that he does...and I always thought it was just him being goofy (imagine that?!:))but Bea started laughing with delight when she saw him doing it...it is actually a REAL dance that is done in the region that their mom grew up! Had it not been for be, we would have missed the cultural significance of what he was doing and, in that, lost some of the preciousness of it!

But, I have to say one of the biggest things I learned this weekend was how to cook Ethiopian style!!!
We made spaghetti (left) and "beg what"(sp?) which is a lamb stew

Aleche (sp?) which is a vegetable dish of cabbage, onion, potatos and carrots...Yum!

Shiro what (sp?) which is like a bean stew. Throw all of it on a piece of injera and grab another piece of injera to eat it with and you have a GREAT meal!

And, if you could have seen the look on Samuel and Caleb's faces as they watched things being made and than ate it all for dinner, you would understand why I took detailed notes of everything in hopes of duplicating it at least a couple of times a month! Bea has an unbelievable servant's heart...and, even though this was supposed to be a time of rest and relaxation for her, she served me in ways that she may never even know and blessed my heart over and over again. She gave me so many glimpses into what my two boys have grown up with and just how much life has changed for them since they have become "Pichura's". She gave me a gift that no one could have bought for me and that has made so many of the moments this weekend priceless!

10 kids in the house meant that we were praying for good weather so that they would be 10 kids OUT of the house most of the day! God had other plans...the rain came down on and off in the morning and steadily in the afternoon. The kids still spent a fair amount of time outside although it ended up in a bit of a muddy (poopy!) mess by later in the afternoon after running around the yard!


They really had a great time playing together! Bea's older daughter, Promise, was a sweet blessing and played a precious "big sister" to all the girls...building an "ark"/tent before the rains came:), painting their toe nails and just all around keeping them entertained...thanks, Promise! Faith made my heart leap with joy when she showed me all the Bible verses that we have learned the last couple of weeks...she had written them out with chalk all around the "tent"! So precious!

And, the biggest surprise of the weekend was that they came as a group of five and left with two more to their number...two puppies that is!:) We had talked to Grace earlier last week about the reality that having two puppies was just not going to be best for our family. We were thrilled to be able to give her the opportunity...but it became clear that having more "indoor animals" was just going to be too much (maybe chicks or a bunny next spring?). There were tears and prayers and extra cuddles...but she understood and we do not believe her little heart has been crushed. And what a blessing it was to be able to send them home with our friends and not have to give them away to strangers! (We'll see how long they see it as a blessing!:) tee-hee)