Delivering Hope with BEMM

Help deliver hope to families in Ethiopia simply by buying a t-shirt! I am excited to announce that I am heading back to Ethiopia this summer with the non-profit organization, Because Every Mother Matters. However, the proceeds will NOT go toward funding my trip. Instead, they will help furnish a newly purchased therapeutic and life skills training home for young women who live on the streets of Ethiopia. This refuge home will provide shelter, food and protection for the women and their children as they are given the love and support needed to begin a new life. You would be getting one awesome t-shirt and helping to change the cycle of poverty for destitute women and their children all at the same time! When you wear this shirt, you will be telling the world that you are proud of the women in this program. Be the one, help change a life!

Questions?
Contact: Courtney Wennemarcourtneywennemar@gmail.com

How Do I order?
All you have to do is send me an email or message me on Facebook telling me what style, size and color of a shirt you’d like. Orders need to be placed with me by April 6th. Please include your address in the email.

How Do I Pay?
Make checks payable to Courtney Wennemar at….
8234 Grand Forest Ct.
Fort Wayne, IN 46815
OR pay me cash or check in person

How Will I Get My Items?
I will hand-deliver your shirt when it arrives. If you are out of my driving radius, I will mail it to you via USPS.

Product: Gildan tee in Unisex style and Ladies’ fit, available in 3 colors (white, brown and black)
Gildan - SoftStyle T-Shirt (Unisex)- 4.5 oz., pre-shrunk 100% Softstyle cotton, double-needle stitched neckline and sleeves, 1/4 turned, shoulder-to-shoulder taping, 3/4" seamless collar
Gildan - Ladies' SoftStyle T-Shirt - 4.5 oz., pre-shrunk 100% Softstyle cotton , double-needle stitched neckline, bottom hem and sleeves, shoulder-to-shoulder taping, side seamed with a stylish, tapered cut, 1/2" seamless collar

Sizes: XS-3XL (XXL add $1.50, XXXL add $2.00)

Price: $20.00 each if hand delivered, $23.50 each if it will need to be shipped to you

6 Months Later....

2nd week home playing in her p.j.'s. Just getting strong enough to push things around.

6 months home, and look at those p.j.'s! Now she is strong enough to run, jump and push her brothers and sister around. :) Love it! (Sorry the picture is sideways. Technology isn't always my friend.)

Would you?

Would you consider yourself lucky if you watched one of your parents die before you reached your first birthday? Would you consider yourself lucky if you were plagued with so many intestinal parasites that you didn't want to eat? (Oh, and when you did eat, you had raging diarrhea.) Would you think yourself lucky if you were taken to strange people in a strange building, and left there while the only person you knew and depended on loved you so much that he/she left you in the hands of others and walked away forever?

Okay, so I'm going to probably offend some people who have said this to me, but this is my blog, so I can write whatever I want.

Well meaning people tell me all the time, "Oh, she is so lucky." (obviously, in reference to my adopted daughter) So, what do I say? A lot of the time I take the easy way out, and I say nothing. I just smile a fake, little smile. Inside my head, though, there are silent screams saying, "NO SHE'S NOT!!! HOW CAN YOU THINK THAT?!" So, I remind myself to take a step back, and think to myself, "I have a different perspective. I've been there. I've seen the sad, scared faces of these orphans, and they don't look like they feel lucky." I know what these well-meaning people are meaning, but it still makes me cringe. They believe our daughter is lucky to be with us. I believe WE are lucky that God has placed His child with us to raise and love and adore. Oh, and she is definitely adored!!! BUT...WE are the lucky ones.

The simple truth is that there are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone. They need families that can love and adore them. BUT, they have already lost families that loved them. They have been scared and alone and hungry. They have suffered immeasurable loss and grief at a very young age.

The only way to change this is to go straight to the root of the problem. Yes, we need to care for the orphans. You can turn to the Bible and find countless places that God demands us to do just that. But, if we only care for the orphans, what happens? Well, what happens is we continue to find the number of orphans worldwide rising.

Now, we are also told to care for the widows and the poor. So, it makes sense that while we are caring for these children who are already orphans, we need to be caring for these women who desperately need help. They want to care for their children. They love and adore them. They work, often going hungry themselves, to take care of their families. BUT, it isn't enough. They can't do it alone. They didn't choose to be poor, but we can choose to make a difference in their lives. Every time we do, we ARE helping the orphans because we are providing families with ways to keep their children from becoming orphans.

I did not write this post with the purpose of endorsing a non-profit organization. BUT....it would seem unfinished if I didn't point out that there are organizations out there doing just this. Because Every Mother Matters supports women in Ethiopia by providing them with financial support, medical check ups and builds relationships that cross continents. They provide birthing kits to women in areas that have nothing to aid women in childbirth. The list goes on...I can not sit idly by and watch from a distance what is happening to these beautiful, joyful people. I hope that this post has struck a chord somewhere in you, urging you to make a difference in the life of someone. Anyone. Yes, I believe God sets the lonely in families. If we did what was asked of us, would there be so many that are lonely?

So Tacky!

Amina and I rockin' our new headbands :)

Some awesome teachers who joined the "headband" club.

Piper sportin' her Ethiopian attire because she loves it SO much!

A better view of our unique headwear

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of hosting a "Tacky 4 Africa" party at my house. Lots of ladies showed up to hear Jaime Glandon describe the efforts of Because Every Mother Matters (founded by Steffany Boster). It was a couple hours filled with fellowship and a dose of reality. BEMM supports women in Ethiopia by providing them not only with education, but tools and resources that could help them save their lives and that of their unborn children. (Did you know that in East Africa, 1 in 11 mommas die due to pregnancy related causes EVERY DAY.) This organization has done so many amazing things already! However, like any nonprofit, they constantly need to raise funds to support their projects. Check out the website for more info. on how you can help, how you can buy one of these awesome headbands and how you can join their efforts!

Me and my girls

Get Away

For Christmas this year, the kids got a few presents from Santa, then another present from mommy and daddy along with Grandpa Dean and Linda. The present was that they were given a note and little, howling wolf with different colors of ribbons or bandanas (so they could tell them apart) to signify the mini-vacation we would be taking 3 days after Christmas. So, not long after the celebrating, we packed up, headed out for a 2 1/2 hour drive (no problem for my kids because they are so used to travelling somewhere) and headed to Great Wolf Lodge. Our room was awesome because we got a free upgrade when the room we reserved was not available (yah, not sure how that happens), so we ended up with a loft, fireplace and tons of space!! The indoor waterpark at the lodge was super fun, and we had a ton of fun just being together as a family. This was Amina's first experience with a pool, and she LOVED the water (which was to be expected because of her love of bath time). Love these uninterrupted days of family time!

A New Year

As I began to talk about New Year's resolutions with my kids and really think about what my resolution might be this year, I realized that I couldn't pin it down to just one thing. (Although, according to my oldest, it's only allowed to be 1 thing.) Most of the time, people (including myself) make a resolution, slip up once, then quit. I want to make this year different. Hopefully, if I write my thoughts down here where anyone and everyone can read them, it will hold me a little more accountable...

1. I resolve to work on being more patient each and every day. I'm pretty sure that I worded this correctly.....because I'll never be as patient as I want to be, I'll slip up and lose my cool, but I want to grow my patience with others and difficult situations each time I'm faced with someone or something that is "trying" me. In other words, when I feel like I'm gonna have to pull my hair out because the noise level in my house is ear-splitting or maybe my kids are not being so kind to each other, I want to be able to handle the situation at hand cooly, and maybe a little creatively most of the time.

2. I resolve to step out of my comfort zone, follow His lead and make decisions in my life that don't just lead me down the easy or comfortable road. I want to allow myself to follow my heart without always being able to see the end result. In the past, I've wanted to know what is going to happen, when it's going to happen, who is going to be there and where we are going. Instead, I want to be led by my heart to do things a little differently, step out into the unknown, and unlock my inner free spirit.

3. I want to continue to remember the power of one. What I do matters. I may not be able to change the world, but I can change someone's life, somehow, someway. No matter what others may say, I want to remember this, and be inspired by like-minded others daily.

4. I resolve to forgive more quickly. I do not want to hold grudges, but face the situation head-on, acknowledging the situation and individual by forgiving them in my heart no matter how hard it is. I know that to be truly forgiven myself, I have to forgive others. No one is perfect. I'm sure that I've hurt the feelings of others, and I sure hope they have been gracious enough to forgive me.

5. I resolve to eat no sweets. (Yes, here we go with a more typical resolution.) I know that I CAN do this. I've done it before, and I can do it again. I feel better, have more energy and gain some pride each time I deny that sweet treat in front of me. Maybe if I can make it a couple of months like this, I can allow myself a once a week treat. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....will become, I know I can, I know I can, I know I can!

So, here is to a new year! Last year brought adventure, new relationships, grew our family and stretched me in ways that I am still discovering. I can not wait to see what 2012 brings!