If you are in or near the Okanagan… Let’s all meet for a giant fall wild neighbours playdate!

Okanagan Families With Children From Africa
Sunday November 14^th 2-4pm
At the EECO (environmental education) Centre and Mission Park Greenway playground
Kelowna

• There is a big playground! And trails to run and play on.
• The environmental education centre EECO right beside has a FREE exhibit on urban wildlife which is sure to delight the little ones, (as well as bathrooms).
• The EECO folks have also kindly volunteered to put on a nature interpretation program for us, which is awesome! In the basement of the EECO Centre we will hot chocolate and cookies. So we’ll have outside and inside room. Probably the “program” will be around 3pm.

Please bring

• a chair or blanket for the adults to sit on outside (we’ll run out of park benches in short order,)
• WARM clothes for everyone to play outside,
• your own travel mugs for the hot chocolate, and
• $5-10 per family to help cover the cost of the EECO centre donation, hot chocolate and goodies.

As usual, all friends and family of OKFCA members are welcome.

Please RSVP to okanaganfca@gmail.com so we can plan for snacks and for the nature program by Nov 6.

The EECO is located in Mission Creek Regional Park at 2363 A Springfield Road (intersection of Springfield and Durnin Roads) in Kelowna. MAP

About the current EECO exhibit:

“Our wild neighbours periodically leave evidence behind of their presence and activities in and around our homes and properties. Sometimes they help themselves by feeding on plants, shrubs and our gardens. Or you may simply find their tracks in the soil or snow.

You can explore more about some of these local animals that make their homes in and around ours by visiting the new exhibit at the EECO, ‘Meet Your Wild Neighbours’.

The exhibit features animals such as the beaver, bobcat, loon, marmot and cougar, all species that call the Central Okanagan home. There are hands-on learning activities to involve children along with information for children of all ages! It’s a great opportunity for you to get a safe, up-close look at some of the animals that may be in your backyard, or at least close by.”

Last weekend we went to Mehaber / True Colours Camp. Some of our friends from Nelson organized this great little camp near Needles, BC, at Whatshan Lake.

There were only 12 families in a smaller private campground, so it was just nice. We could let the kids bike around like crazy without having to watch them at all. The two times I “lost” them I only had to look for 5 minutes to find them. Sugar and Spice were reunited with a little girl that they lived with at the Imagine/Kidslink transition home in Ethiopia. That was really cool. And they made new friends as well. Jrock and I got to sit back and relax. The camp was very informal, since it was so small, so I lead some crafts, and Jrock followed the girls around on the bike and chatted with the dads.

It was also nice for us to have a trial for Harambe Camp – which is for a whole week. The dogs were awesome, so we feel really good about that. But it also made us feel much more comfortable about the girls in the trailer and gave us a small list of stuff to buy and collect. Funny – we worried about our 17 foot trailer being too small with two kids and two dogs – honestly, the kids don’t make that much difference.

Our Okanagan Families With Children From Africa group had our second Happy Hair Hour last week – what fun!  Thanks so much to N for hosting.  There were 7 of us ladies… most with kids from Ethiopia and Swaziland, and one Ethiopian lady. The agenda – eat baked camembert, drink wine, be merry, and talk hair (specifically, our kids’ hair).

One of the items I brought to show and tell (this is one of my favorite part of Happy Hair Hour, aside from the gossip and the cheese!) was my Magic Hair Elixir.  And today – oh you lucky people – the recipe is going to be shared with the world!!!

So it was born of necessity. The first time I was going to do twists on my daughter’s hair, I didn’t have any holding paste or wax. I don’t like gel staying on there and drying the hair out, and the only beeswax paste I could find, well, it’s main ingredient is petroleum. So after encouragement from my friend, I decided to make my own.

A couple batches in, I can tell you that it works AWESOMELY. The wax gives you a grip on the hair and holds a bit, the butter moisturizes and the oil allows it to be the right consistency for dabbing onto the hair pre-braiding. It doesn’t leave a film on my grils’ hair at all, and it helps it stay nice and moisturized and healthy. Enjoy!

My magical hair elixir

• 1/4 beeswax
  I get mine at the farmer’s market, or last last Saturday night, at the honey farm!
• 1/4 coconut or shea butter
  Both work great. 100% butters are available at your local health food and most grocery stores.
• 1/2 oil (olive or sweet almond are good)
  The trick is you can’t use any oil that needs to be stored in the fridge after opening.

Melt together in a jar over water, then stir several times as it cools. Store at room temperature.

We had a great time last weekend at our annual winter get-together up in Lavington, with all our friends from Okanagan Families With Children From Africa.  Above is a picture of SOME of our collective kids - there were quite a few more.

Here’s a little video to show you a bit what it is like when 10 families are all talking and playing together.  More pictures should come soon on the OKFCA website. If you are new to the adoption world, there are groups like this across Canada – you can start on our Okanangan chapter website to find one, or just start asking around at your agency or other families you know.  You’d be amazed at the nice, interesting people you will meet!

our gracious host, his son and me

This weekend we got together with a bunch of other families who

• have children adopted from Africa 
• are somewhere in the adoption process
• have African cultural heritage

Our group is called Okanagan Families with Children from Africa.  We formed… when was that? two years ago now? wow! and have been growing ever since.  This potluck get together had over 50 people in attendance – isn’t that cool?  And we have families with kids from Ethiopia and Swaziland… and soon Ghana too. 

SEE MORE PICTURES HERE

Jrock showing pictures of our girls to a couple interested in adoption

We are also lucky to have several families in our group with one or two adults of Ethiopian heritage – in fact, our hosts for this event were Ethiopian, and boy, did we get treated to some awesome food.  I stayed afterwards and talked injera shop – I’ve managed to get the texture pretty good with injera, but the flour composition hasn’t been quite right.  So next time I’ll try 3 self-rising flour to 1 corn, 1 whole wheat, 1 brown rice, 1 dark rye… and see how it goes.

A great group of people – if you have kids from Ethiopia or are considering adopting, I highly encourage you to reach out and meet some other families – it’s invaluable for the adults and for the kids. 

For example, there were three girls who attended (all from different families) who had slept together in the same bed in Ethiopia and hadn’t seen each other in Canada until last Saturday.  What an invaluable connection for those girls.

Yesterday we got together with several families from up and down the Okanagan valley for a family potluck in Lavington.  It was our winter gethering for Okanagan Families With Chidlren From Africa. It was really nice event – I love potlucks – they are so simple, and you get to try all these different foods…

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We had a few new families join us, which was awesome – including an Ethiopian lady and her little boy.  I am so glad that we started up this group a year and a half ago – it’s such a resource for parents going through the adoption process… but it’s also invaluable for kids to see other families that look like theirs – and a real treat for the Ethiopians to connect with Ethiopian kids and families so appreciative of their culture. There was one lady who joined us who adopted three kids from Ethiopia 11? years ago – and she brought some Doro Wat   So I got to taste another Canadian version and it was delicious!

Thanks to R and D who hosted, and N who showed her pics of Ethiopia! It’s wonderful that the group has a life of its own and I just love that other people are hosting and organizing!

See the video above, and you can see more pictures here.

Me and two friends' daughters – it's nice to borrow kids until I have my own!

Our group, Okanagan Families With Children From Africa, met this past Saturday for a family picnic in Lake Country.  It was really nice to see one of our original members with her daughter home (only 10 days after arriving in Canada!) We also had some new members join us: a couple who are just starting the process to adopt from Ethiopia, and a lady with her young daughter from Swaziland. Very cool to see our group grow and flourish! 

Thanks to my friend N who organized the event – and is off in 2 days to pick up her little girl in Ethiopia!

MORE PICTURES of the event.

Our group, Okanagan Families With Children From Africa, is getting together in May.  If you are in the neighborhood, maybe you can join us!

Sunday, May 18th – Westbank
Okanagan Families With Children From Africa FAMILY POTLUCK

We’ll BBQ at Laura and Brent’s house and there is a lot of room for the kids to play inside and in the backyard. If you have outdoor games (soccer, football, etc…) age-appropriate for your kids, please bring them.  3344 McIver Rd, Westbank (250) 768-4348

**Please bring your own meat, plus a communal side dish or dessert of your choosing.

As usual, friends and family are welcome.

Please RSVP to okfca@hotmail.com to let us know you are coming! (Thanks for hosting, Laura!!)

If you would like to see pictures of our group’s previous get-togethers, check out our website!

Okanagan Families With Children From Africa 

Hope you enjoy – there was a lot of screaming and excitement at our gathering, so it’s a good thing the music plays over the video, let me tell you!  But seriously, we had such a great time.  We had families come from Kelowna, Vernon, Westbank and even Langley! Thank you everyone for coming! Our group is growing and it’s a wonderful thing to see this evolving subculture.  It’s amazing to think what a great social / support group this is for our kids, and for us parents as well. 

If you’d like to know more about our group, or see more pictures, check out
http://okanaganfamilieswithchildrenfromafrica.wordpress.com

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2wwdX2hYSA]

Saturday, January 26, 2008 – Kelowna
Timkat Celebration
5pm-8pm, Reid Hall, Benvoulin Heritage Park, 2279 Benvoulin Road, Kelowna
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This gathering of the Okanagan Families With Children From Africa will celebrate the biggest festival of the Ethiopian calendar.  We’ll include all the secular parts of the Orthodox celebration, including eating great Ethiopian food and listening to Ethio music. Dancing and frolicking is encouraged! Parents should bring a *small* gift of a new article of clothing for their children, as is the tradition.
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Want to come? 
$15 adults / $7 kids / $0 babies
5pm-8pm / Reid Hall, 2279 Benvoulin Road, Benvoulin Heritage Park, Kelowna
We could use some help cooking, if you are game!
Also looking for families that have been to Ethiopia already to share their photos and/or do a short presentation.
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Please RSVP to okfca@hotmail.com

Learn a little more about Timkat/Timket here and here.

It was a great time this afternoon in Osprey Park… we had several families show up for our first ever Okanagan Families With Children From Africa gathering. 

You can see lots more pictures here, on the OK FCA website.

Keep tuned for our next gathering, a couple months from now:-)

Our first get-together for the Okanagan Chapter of Families With Children From Africa!  How exciting!!

Saturday, October 27th, noon – Kelowna
OKFCA Family Potluck BBQ in Osprey Park
Bring your outside toys -there is a playground and ball dimond with lots of room for games at Osprey Park on the corner of Osprey and Richter (enter off Pandosy Street) in south Kelowna.

We’ll go rain or shine – there is a picnic shelter as well as a OKFCA member’s house just down the block if we need to warm up or move inside.

Please email okfca@hotmail.com to sign up for the potluck lunch.