International Adoption Picnic 2010

We were blessed to be able to host our first annual International Adoption Picnic in August. Friends from all over joined us to celebrate our wonderful children. If you would like to join us next year just send me a message and I'll be happy to add you to the invitation list. :)

Happy New Year!

For my friend Erin who is fascinated by the Ethiopian calendar. :)

From Wikipedia:

The Ethiopian calendar also called the Ethiopian Ge'ez calendar, is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical calendar for Christians in Eritrea belonging to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Eastern Catholic Church and Lutheran Evangelical Church of Eritrea. It is based on the older Alexandrian or Coptic calendar, which in turn derives from the Egyptian calendar, but like the Julian calendar, it adds a leap day every four years without exception, and begins the year on August 29 or August 30 in the Julian calendar. A seven- to eight-year gap between the Ethiopian andGregorian calendars results from alternate calculations in determining the date of the Annunciation of Jesus.

Like the Coptic calendar, the Ethiopian calendar has twelve months of 30 days each plus five or six epagomenal days, which comprise a thirteenth month. The Ethiopian months begin on the same days as those of the Coptic calendar, but their names are in Ge'ez. The sixth epagomenal day is added every four years without exception on August 29 of the Julian calendar, six months before the Julian leap day. Thus the first day of the Ethiopian year, 1 Mäskäräm, for years between 1901 and 2099 (inclusive), is usually September 11 (Gregorian), but falls on September 12 in years before the Gregorian leap year.

The current year according to the Ethiopian calendar is 2002, which began on September 11, 2009 AD of the Gregorian calendar. The year 2003 will begin on September 11, 2010.

Summer 2010

Summer 2010 is flying by. We've enjoyed our first camping trip already and countless hours near the pool. Lucas is scheduled for another surgery on August 3rd, and we leave the 5th for another camping trip. After that we will have to start thinking about school again and getting supplies and clothes ready. I am so blessed to be able to spend the summer with my children. Here are some of our highlights so far.

Spring in New York

We have been blessed with a warmer than normal spring here in Northern New York. It has been great to be outside and feeling the warm air. Here are a few pictures to let everyone know what we've been up to these last few months.














Lucas is doing amazingly well. His language development continues to amaze me. Everything is in a complete sentence now with the incorrect word thrown in from time to time. Words like where, when, who...are still confusing to him. Pronouns are now used, though not always the correct gender, which is funny to hear. There are some phrases that we use everyday that Lucas thinks are just one single word. For example, he says "wash your hands" as "washuands". His tooth brush is his "brusher", he wears a "dress" because we tell him to to get "dressed" and he puts his pants and shirt on, so they must be his dress, right?.
He has a great imagination which might come back to haunt him, or us, someday. He will sit there and tell a story about him and daddy going hunting, getting bit by a deer and shooting it with a yellow gun as if it were 100% true. If you didn't know better you would believe it, scary! I'll have to remember how good he is a lying when he becomes a teenager.

Thinking of Ethiopia

For your viewing pleasure.
We have been thinking a lot about Ethiopia as the people from that country celebrate Ganna (Christmas) this week, January 7th

It's official!!

He is now officially Lucas Digafu Bertram! As of Dec. 23rd 2009.