Africa Fest

First off in Buchanan news...The tooth fairy rides again! 

Luca lost her first tooth this week!!!  It was really loose for the past couple of weeks, and finally one morning while snuggling in our bed, she finally lost it (to her great delight)!  The tooth fairy paid up big time since it was her first tooth ($, Build-A-Bear clothes, books and a Hello Kitty candy and fan!)  In the morning, she told me she heard the tooth fairy's magic in the night.  When I asked her what it sounded like, she said it sounded like "jingling."   :-)

Her new tooth was already growing up behind it as you can see in the picture below.  Looks like we have not one, but TWO sets of braces in our future! 

Today we attended Africa Fest in Madison and had such a great tiime! 

The whole family participated in Strides for Africa, a run/walk which raises money to build clean water springs in Ethiopia!  The organization's statistics are apphauling...Only one person in ten has access to clean water. 80% of all illness is due to dirty water. 250,000 children die each year from diarrhea. One Ethiopian child in ten DIES before its fifth birthday with half of those dying from diarrhea. 

Cost of a well serving 350 people? 

$5000

I shudder to think what I've spent $5000 on...or WANT to spend $5000 on! 

Check out what A Glimmer of Hope is doing! 

The girls stretching before the kids run.

Lined up and raring to go!

Look at Luca's face!  She took off like no one's business

during both the adult portion and the kids run portion. 

Brenin and her friend Naomi

My friend Tracy tipped us off to the event...they are another homeschooling, Ethiopian-American family who we absolutely love.  Thanks for the super fun day Matt, Tracy, Naomi, Isaac and Nile! 

One blessed mama!

The girls each got a medal for their part in the race! 

You would have thought it was a BAR of gold by their reactions...it was a proud moment! 

There was so much to do at Africa Fest...lots of vendors, African food, live African music and drumming, cultural demonstrations, a walk through African "village" and a kids area where they could make their own drums, learn to play mancala, get their face painted and make a mask! 

Luca trying on one of the vendor's masks.

Mancala is such a beautiful game to look at! 

I wanted to take this one home and use it as a decoration! 

Luca playing with her food...the girl can down some major injera!

Crushing peanuts into paste for cooking.  All the women surrounding were commenting on how good Brenin was at this without even being taught.  Now I know just what to get her for Christmas this year!  :-) 

These dancers were incredible and invited the kids on stage for a lesson!

We also got to see some Madison friends, Kangethe, Ngige and Sophie,

and it was so wonderful to catch up with them with the sounds of Africa dancing in the air. 

Sophie and Luca enjoying the music

Feeling worn out and thankful for a community of Africans so

near to our own and for beautiful friends to share it with.