10 days of Ethiopia - Day 3

This Morning started off with Bagels juice and coffee. The second day of school was far easier than the first, now that we are settling into a morning routine.

I went out and got some scures for the paperwhites heather bought before she left. Fun little trick, if you have a bulb that you want to put in water, but is too small for the jar, you can stick it with a scure or toothpick to hold it in place.



I also made took pictures of all the frames I made, hopefully they will be listed soon.

I am having a lot of fun seeing all the work they bring home. Check out Liam's new lion head dress.



After School they had lollypops as a fun snack, guess what color they were?



I had a parent teacher conference with Ashton's teacher which went well. Dinner was delivered courtesy of My mother in law. 45 minutes at 350 degrees. DONE.


After dinner we continued the letters that the boys are writing Mommy telling her about their days. We aren't mailing them, they are for her to read when she gets back.



The activity chain said Movie night with a new movie. You're a good sport Charlie Brown was waiting for them. We watched it with a popcorn and eggnog.



Early to bed as we are all pretty tired.

10 days of Ethiopia - Day 2

Today was the first day of school after the break. I am very fortunate that heather left me a detailed list of how to pack lunches, and the schedule for the bus.



I was able to get a lot done while they were at school. I took my phone to the att store, where they told me it was not fixable, and they would be mailing me a new one. That sucks.

I was able to spend a lot of the afternoon making frames for Jcrabbit. Which is exciting, because I never have time to make them start to finish, I have 8 that should be listed soon now.



After school we had popcorn for a snack, and checked out the Activity chain. It said "special gift"



They opened Finn McMissle pez dispensers.




It was 60 degrees here, and I couldnt just stay inside, so we went to the park for an hour just to play and have fun.




Mac and cheese for dinner, and Liam fell asleep on the couch, before 7:30. Ashton and I stayed up, and watched how the Grinch stole Christmas.

10 days of Ethiopia - Day 1

I thought a lot about how to do this. These posts will actually serve 2 purposes. One as a journal of what we did, to remember it by, and 2 so that Heather can read about what we are doing.

Technically Day one was yesterday, so each post will actually be a day behind. That is the easiest way to post about the whole day.

So we went to church as normal, the only real difference was that rather than coming home together for sunday lunch, I was going home, and she was hopping on a plane to Africa... Crazy!





She left a paper chain again, and wrote something for us to do each day from her. Today is said "a concert"





The boys and I came home and ate a quick lunch and then headed out to a Rick Charette concert. He was big when I was a kid, and the concert yesterday was packed. We got there early, but the boys were so excited that there were bleachers, they wanted to sit way up at the top.




The show was about an hour, which seemed to coincide with the attention span of most of the kids in the room. Even Ashton started loosing interest toward the end, and began reading the program.



After the concert, we went grocery shopping. When she went to Romania this summer I waited far to long for that. Making the lunches for school was a lot easier having everything I needed.

We made omlettes for dinner, and the kids laid out their clothes for the morning, then went to bed. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to do tomorrow, and how to schedule out all my time.

One thing Heather asked me to do was write a letter to her each day telling what we did. so I am doing that as well. It is great to write each day as I think of what I want to tell her about the day.

Thats all for now. Check back tomorrow to see what we are up to.

Wordless Wednesday - Stairlight

A Letter From My Wife

My wife, Heather, will be traveling to Ethiopia in 13 days. Yes, she is leaving me again, but it it is all for a GREAT cause. Here is a letter she wrote to potential supporters of her trip. I would love you all to read it & consider being a part of the awesome work she will be doing. - Mitch



Romanian Boy

As some of you may know, I recently returned from a 10 day mission's trip in Romania. The fundraising for that trip was what I would call pretty easy. I sent out letters, got a great response, and was 100% funded weeks before my departure date. It was a totally new experience for me, and I was thrilled that God had called me to go out into the world. Honestly, I was also happy that while in Romania, God revealed to me that there is a lot of work at home in my own community that I needed to do. What a sigh of relief! While I loved my time in Romania, it was hard to set aside my kids, my husband, and my life for 10 days. I was happy to have had the experience & be done with missions for awhile.



typical Romanian apartment building.
1-3 rooms per apartment.
2-15 people living together.

Romanian Woman in Traditional Dress


About two weeks after my return, I was having a little meeting with a friend & the prospect of going to Ethiopia came up in conversation. As we started talking about it, I started crying & told her I had to go. Now, in my head I was thinking "NO YOU CRAZY PERSON! You just got back! Why are you saying you will go again?!" In my heart were the quiet whispers saying, "You need to go, I have things to show you & teach you in Africa."

Long story short Mitchell was 100% on board the minute I told him about the possibility, God showed me how circumstances from as long as 2 years ago happened in preparation for this trip, and I'm leaving in 13 days to go to Ethiopia.



Ethiopian Street Venders



So why am I writing all of this and sharing it? It has been on my heart lately to share with people where my heart is. I so badly want people to understand that I am not doing this for me. Yes, I feel extremely blessed and am so humbled that God picked me to go to Africa for Him, but if it wasn't for His work in my life I can honestly say my selfishness & need for control would take over & I probably wouldn't be going on this trip. I don't want people reading this to misunderstand and think that I don't want to go, I do! I'm just saying that it isn't going to be easy & it isn't a 5 star vacation. ;)


With all of that said, I still need $1570 to cover my expenses for the trip, and I have honestly struggled with asking for the money. This morning on my way to get the immunizations required for Ethiopia, I was really convicted to share my heart & make it clear that while yes, the $1570 needed is for me to go, every single person that gives...no matter what amount...is going with me on this journey. This money is not for me, I'm just merely one of the vehicles God has chosen at this time to show His love to widows & orphans in Africa. I am by no means of the imagination perfect, but I am so thankful that God picked me...just a messy sinner...to be HIS hands & feet to others literally on the other side of the world. So won't you help me? I'm not going to stop asking until my goal is met... because you see, I'm not asking for me. I'm asking on behalf a greater cause. I'm asking on behalf of every person I come across in Africa. I'm asking on behalf of Him who is sending me...

While I am on the ground in Africa, I will be spending the majority of my time working with an awesome organization called the Selamta Family Project. Selamta is an innovative community-based model for creating permanent, independent families in regions ravaged by AIDS, poverty and despair. Selamta changes the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children, marginalized women and the communities that surround them, with a low-cost, scaleable system that creates sustainable change and social renewal. For more information please visit Selamta's website at http://www.selamta.org/.

Ethiopian Boy, once an orphan, but now in a forever family thanks to Selamta

If you would like to donate, please visit the following Paypal fundraising link.

http://goo.gl/1xVLk

Thank you so much!

~Heather

Do you take pictures

If you follow this blog, and have a camera, I need your help!

Take a look at MatchShot No it is not a bad site, I created it. read the what is it portion, and see if you would be willing to donate a photo every once in a while! http://www.matchshot.blogspot.com/p/what-is-it.html If it ever gets popular, you can say you were there when it all started.

Thanks for considering it!

-Mitch

WW pier flag

Jet Lines.

I love the lines that planes make as they cross the sky. I don't know why some do and some dont, or why sometimes there seem to be so many, or why some last so long, all I know is as a child, I used to lay on my back in the front yard and stare at the sky watching the jets turn it into a checkerboard of exhaust.



Then on September 12th 2001, I looked up, and for the first time ever in my life, there were no lines. not a single one. Of course I had been watching the news, and understood exactly why. No planes, meant no lines.



But as time passed, slowly but surely, the lines started to appear again, a small symbol of some normalcy returning after that chaotic time we all went through.



Maybe it is just the time of year, but there seemed to be an extra lot of plane lines today, so I sat amazed watching them criss and cross for about an hour.



Do you have Jet lines in the sky at your house?

Distracted Driving

While I am all for the recent law passed here in Maine prohibiting cell phone use other than talking while operating a motor vehicle, I had to break it yesterday.

If it had caused an accident I would have felt horrible, but I didn't really think of it as distracted driving, because I picked up my camera phone very intentionally and carefully to snap one quick shot.

I believe the law is looking for those carrying on text conversations, or glued to their e-mail while cruising down the highway.

Hard to feel bad when this was the result, but I have to say, please don't text and Drive!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Trick or Treat

Photo Credit My Wife's Instagram

Good Eats

Halloween food is often overlooked given its proximity to thanksgiving, but I think I ate pretty well yesterday.