Yipee

I want to say a big huge THANK YOU to those wonderful people that sent us money to buy shoes! Today my friend and I got to go shopping for these shoes and it was a lot of fun. I get all giddy inside when I think about these kids seeing their totally nice new shoes and socks! I wish you could all be there to witness it! I absolutely cannot wait!!!
After buying the shoes, we still had extra money leftover! What are we going to do with that? We will donate it to the orphanage that our children are at. Let me tell you why we think this will be so helpful.
Our orphanage has mostly older children. Children that are not easily adopted. Some of these children have been in the orphanage for 4 years and the prospects of adoption are not too likely. The costs that this orphanage have each month include the following: The office staff pay, the nannies that are there full time, the rent for the property and buildings, the food for all the children and nannies, a guard that stays there all the time to protect the compound, schooling for all of the children (this is private schooling because the free public schooling is horrendous,) and any other care that the children need. So you can see that all really adds up! The income that the orphanage receives just comes from people that have agreed and committed to adopting a child/ren at the orphanage. When the children are taken from the orphanage to go home with their adoptive families, they lose that income. It's a big loss. When there are not many children being adopted out of their orphanage, they have a very low income. They are struggling. I would hate to see them close and move the children elsewhere! So we were hoping to bring them some money next time we go.

I have received quite a few phone calls or messages asking me how to help. I didn't expect this and so I have felt a little unorganized and not sure what to tell people. Some people I have left hanging because I didn't know what to tell them exactly. So I've thought it through and have come up with my list of how people could help that I think would be great. Of course there are many other ways to do good, these are just a few I came up with that would be easy to execute and causes that I personally feel drawn to. One thing to keep in mind, is that it is quite expensive to pay for extra baggage or heavier baggage over there. Otherwise, it would be very helpful to load up all of our excess stuff we all have to bring over there. Unfortunately, it just isn't cost effective. Already we will be bringing the shoes and hygiene kits this trip, so space will be limited! Nice tennis shoes, especially for children, is just one of those things you do not see in markets in Ethiopia, so getting them here was the only option.

I am in no way whatsoever asking for money or donations or help here. Just offering ideas to those that I've left hanging and those that really want to help. I love people like you TO DEATH! Love the rest of you too of course. No pressure here.

1- Donate for shoes. COMPLETE. Thanks everyone!!!

2- Donate to the orphanage. You could send us money and it will just be added to the pot of what we'll be giving to them. However, with what we are giving them, along with what we have from you guys, it will be a huge help to them already. So see below if this doesn't appeal to you or you prefer to do something different.

3- Sponsor a boy through "Where Love Is". This is the organization I had mentioned in a previous post. It costs $50 per month to sponsor a boy. How this works, is Jason, an American friend of ours lives there in Addis. He takes homeless boys off the streets ages about 6-teen and puts them in apartments. He's an honest, good guy, and really cares about these kids. He gets them their clothing and food. He pays for their education and he takes them to church. I heard that currently only half of the boys he cares for are being sponsored. Or if you would like to just donate a one time flat amount to his cause, you could do that too. We could bring him money next time we go. If you want to do the monthly sponsorship program, let me know and I can get you the information.

If you can think of anything else I have not mentioned here, I would love to hear about it.
So if anyone wants to do any of the above, decide what you want, how much, and let me know. You can email me at: amandastevebishop@hotmail.com
We do have a personal paypal account if that makes it easier for you too.

Birthday Kids

This last week we celebrated the birthdays of Jonah and Celeste. What great kids these guys are!
I love this photo of Jonah. It's one of his classic goofy expressions. In our family photo shoot back in October, all of his photos except for one had these random expressions.
Jonah is now 11. He's quite the kid. Given us a run for our money for sure. We have been so happy with him and all he's been doing. He has been in a robotics club for about the past 5 months. He loves it! They build robots together and program them to be able to accomplish certain missions. It's way nerdy, but in a cool kind of way.
This kid is smart and funny. He loves writing wacky letters to companies. He has a scrapbook of the letters he has received back. These letters are hilarious; both the letters out and response ones. He likes drawing cartoons and building crap out of crap. He is a good boy too. He loves his family and is especially sweet and tender with his baby sister and with me. I love when he will come up to me and out of the blue just say "Mom, I love you." He's very protective of his baby sister and likes to take good care of her and make her happy.
For his birthday I let him skip school. (Against Steve's opinion that kids should not be missing school, even on their birthdays. What's your opinion on that btw?) He and I had a nice day together. We went out to lunch and shopping to spend his birthday money. For dinner that night I served his request: corndogs and brownies. Not that most of us could gag down the corndogs, but they were served and served on the nice dishes, in honor of him. It was a good day.
Celeste turned 12 this week. She is also a really special child. We love and enjoy her in many ways. She is very mature in some ways and has a good mind. She likes to set goals. And she sets really good goals. She tries hard and likes to do a good job at everything she does. She likes to help. She cannot wait to grow up and be a mom and wife. I have to tell her all the time to try and enjoy being a kid while she can. But she loves to dream and look to the future all the time. She loves reading and writing. She loves all kinds of books and loves learning in general. She knows the Bible unusually well. She studies her scriptures and loves them. She's a good girl. All she wanted for her birthday was to do two things. 1- Go to the temple and 2- Go to the Family History Library. The only gift request I got from her was those two things and a new journal because all of her others are filled.
This was the year that she had the option to have friend party. But she really didn't want one. Which I was actually sad about. Instead we have a little trip planned for just me and her. We are going to Salt Lake this weekend and staying the night there together. We are going to go the Salt Lake Temple together to do baptisms and we also plan to spend hours together in that Family History Museum.
On the day of her birthday I let her skip school too. Steve and I took her out to dinner in our Temple cafeteria, then we did baptisms. Celeste was baptized on behalf of Andy's sister who died when she was 15, his mother, his grandmother and great grandmother as well as Hana's mother. Steve did the male counterparts. It was an incredibly special night and she was thrilled for the experience!
Happy Birthday to Jonah and Celeste! We love you so much!

Some of my happiest memories

As promised, a happier post to follow up that sad one.

To start out I want to say that we came back from this trip with love for these adoptive children like our own flesh and blood. I suddenly wanted to make sure I protected them from anything negative. I wanted everyone to know and love them the way I did. I thought about our families and friends and how they have reacted to our adoption. Especially since we've gotten back. It brings us great joy to realize that all of Steve's family and almost all of mine have been incredibly supportive. They already love these kids too. Take my in-laws for instance. Steve's parents have had Andy and Hana's photos up on their Grandkids brag wall for months now. They are truly thrilled to welcome these children into the family. My mother in law has been sewing quilts for them like she has done for the other grandchildren. Steve's sister has watched out for deals at second hand stores to purchase clothes for Hana and Andy. The rest of his family has expressed their excitement and has loved to hear about the details of the adoption all through the process. They are wonderful people. On my side of the family we have received similar support. My parents have gotten excited and have offered so much support and love for these children. Most of my brothers and sisters too. I love hearing my nieces and nephews get excited about their new cousins. Anna's little Tucker has said the cutest comments about our adoption you'd ever hear! My sisters have been wonderful and given me so much love and help. They also love these children we are bringing home too. It's been a great blessing and so much appreciated by us.
Since we've been back, a large amount of friends, distant relatives and acquaintances have been so wonderful! We've been amazed and touched by people's love and support of what we are doing. When I mentioned the shoes for the children for the orphanage, I had initially expected maybe a few people to approach me about that to help. Not so. It's been way way more. And people that want to do much more than donate for shoes. I think for the most part people have big hearts and they want to help and they are willing to. As sad as it was to see the struggles of people in Africa, it has been a joy and has filled our hearts to see the people want to help and the people that have open arms waiting in the wings to love and welcome our children into our family and country. I love all these people that care so much. There are so many good people out there with good hearts doing good things and I am inspired by them. Thank you everybody!!! You have touched us more than you know.

There are many things about our trip that bring a smile to my face to think about. I want to tell you about a few of those things too.

For the most part we enjoyed almost every meal we ate there. Ethiopians can make some great American food and Italian food. We loved it! A couple of times we went out to Ethiopian restaurants that only served traditional Ethiopian food though. And it was a different experience for us. This is embarrassing, but back at home I had actually cooked Ethiopian food quite a bit for a family that we are friends with that adopted Ethiopian children. But I never had the guts to eat it. It did not look appealing to me. But when we were in Ethiopia, we really thought we better give it a good hard try. This was the dish they brought us out that first time...
Steve's response... "Think outside the bun." We picked at it for a while and couldn't find any of it we liked. There was a bunch left and the waitress came back and asked us how it was. Steve says "Sorry, we aren't use to this kind of food. But I am sure it's good." I bust up laughing. Yeah. Good one Steve.

Another memory that I love to think about has to do with our driver Solomon. He was a really nice guy. We had him eat with us at all our dining out meals. He taught us so much about their country and helped us is many ways. He would often have Ethiopian music playing in the car. It all sounded the same to me and I wasn't loving any of it. But one day I heard a song while in Solomon's car that I really liked! I said to Solomon, "I really like this song!"
On the night Solomon went to pick us up to take us to the airport, I was in the backseat feeling so sad about leaving our children behind. Then Solomon hands me a music CD. He says "That has the song you said you liked on it. It's a gift for you." I couldn't believe how thoughtful that was. We loved our driver. He's a great guy.

Another thing happened there that was ranked right at the top of my list of happy moments. I decided one day to give all the little girls and all the nannies in the orphanage manicures and pedicures. I brought all the stuff with me that day. When we were all in the main room, Steve, the nannies, and all the children, I stood in front of them with the nail polish and explained what it was; doing a little acting for those that didn't speak English. The boys caught on quickly that this was not for them. They all went outside and played soccer with Steve while I got to work. I started with the little girls. One by one I washed their hands and their feet. Then I got my lotion out and massaged their hands and feet. Finally they picked out the color they wanted and I painted their nails on their hands and feet for them. The little girls loved it!
When I got to the adults, they were embarrassed at first. They didn't want me to do that for them. They also didn't think that was something I should do for them. But I insisted. Some of their feet were not like any feet I had ever seen. The skin was like a rhino skin. Their nails like petrified wood. But they sat there like it was heaven. They all let me do it and they all kissed me over and over when I was done. Even Hana's Grandmother wanted in on the action and that was so fun. It was the best feeling to do something for them after all they had done for these children. Here is one of the nanny's hands. Notice she has a Serving With Smiles bracelet on too and silly bandz. All the adults loved those as well. Who'd of thought!
Each day we brought the children little gifts and treats. It was like a celebration every time we gave out these small gifts. One day I handed out little prints of Jesus to the children. The girls got one of Jesus holding hands with a cute little black girl and the boys got one of Jesus holding a little black boy. They all knew who Jesus was. They all loved Jesus. The next day when we came back to the orphanage, I went into the boy's bedroom to see Andy's bed set up like this. He had made his bed with the little travel blanket I gave him and then the picture of Jesus. So sweet.
Meeting all of the children of course was the best part of our trip for sure! Seeing how good they were. So sweet. So grateful. So happy and loving. We went to 3 different orphanages and handed out the Serving With Smiles bracelets and geckos as I've mentioned before. That was so much fun! They wanted everyone to get one. The adults and even the babies.
It was neat to think that something our little American children had made themselves was being worn by sweet little children on the other side of the world.

At one of these orphanages the kids were so happy to spend some time with us. They danced for us and it was Ethiopian dancing, which is entirely unlike American dancing. Youtube Ethiopian dancing and you'll know what I mean. It's a lot of upper body jerking movements. I got up and tried to dance with all of these children, the nannies looking on. They all burst out laughing. I know I was totally messing it up and it felt good to see them laugh so hard even if it was at my expense.

At the orphanage where mine and Steve's children are at, we loved playing with them! Steve had several great soccer games with those boys. All of the children taught us Ethiopian games. We have video of them. They were so fun! Lots of singing was involved in their games. We left that orphanage each day totally exhausted. It was quite the workout playing with them so much.
We also taught them American games. Red Rover and such. They enjoyed learning our games as much as we enjoyed learning theirs.

My most fond memory has to be this final one I will share with you though.
The first few days at the orphanage we had the children do a lot of performing for us. We encouraged them to sing and dance and play in front of us as we watched like adoring fans. Finally I realized they might enjoy it if Steve and I performed for them too. They all gathered around and sat in their little chairs. I stood up front and performed for them. I juggled. I danced ballet for them. Steve and I also did a little swing dancing for them too. I tried to teach them how to juggle. They all tried and it was adorable.
Then they all sat back down and I suggested to Steve that he should get back up there and sing "I am a child of God" with me to the children. He did. The children sat there and watched us in total silence and raptured attention as we sang. Then all of the sudden, during the song, they all got up and quietly walked towards us as we kept singing. They all held hands and a couple of them grabbed our hands. We were all in a circle holding hands. Steve and I were singing "I am a child of God" and the children were watching us so silently, like they felt something, like they understood the meaning. A few tried to sing along. Of course my singing was awful and it didn't help that the scene was choking me up, but the love and spirit in that room was tangible. It was amazing.

The Tough Stuff

Our trip to Ethiopia was life altering. There were so many things we saw and felt while we were there, that we will never be the same again. This child's handprint on the wall in our children's orphanage reminds me of what I felt Ethiopia did to my heart. It left something there, something permanent. It's not necessarily pretty, but it's there and there for good.
We didn't get photos of much outside of the orphanage. Mainly because the African Union Summit was happening while we were there. Which meant that there were soldiers with machine guns about every 5 feet on the streets. Our driver advised us not to to take photos while we were out on the streets.

When we first arrived, we were given a ride to our guest house. The utter shock of what I was seeing on the streets was enough to make me tremble and cry. How can I describe it to you? It's times like these I wish I were a great writer. I wish you could envision and understand what is happening on the other side of the world. To millions of people. It's certainly not how God's children were meant to live.

Our first day there we were able to meet the boy our daughter has been sponsoring for the past year and a half. She has earned money month after month, without reminder or pushing. It was something she wanted to do. This boy lives in an apartment with other boys. With her money, he is able to have food, a place to stay and schooling. We send her money to a young man each month who is American and lives there with the sole purpose of taking boys off the streets and making sure they are clothed, fed and cared for. These boys live alone without parents or adults in these apartments.

Our American friend who oversees these boys took us into their apartments. He talked about it being nice. I was looking around and screaming within myself "How can this possibly be considered nice?!" The floors are rough cement. They have these thin pads on the floor for beds. There is basically no furniture. They are dark and cold. "Nice" was not the word I would have used to describe it. But compared to what many people there have, I guess it was. You could tell the boys thought it was nice too. They didn't know we were coming and their apartments were very tidy like they were grateful for their home and respected it. Not something my children back in the states have a grasp on yet.
Whenever we would walk out of the gates of our guest house or the orphanage, we would be mobbed by children. They loved when we would give out our Serving With Smiles bracelets and geckos that the SWS children made back at home. We had brought them to hand out to children in the orphanages. After handing them out at 3 orphanages, we realized we had enough to give to children on the streets as well. Even adults were asking for them. Seriously, a bracelet that any other child here in America would enjoy for maybe 15 minutes, then toss it on the floor along with all their other piles of toys was a true treasure to these children.
This is the "bathroom" the children at our orphanage use. Need I say more?
This is what the back of the orphanage looked like. The back of many homes looked like this. Laundry hung everywhere. We were at a different orphanage one day and they had many ropes with clean clothes hanging on them. Then it began to rain hard. I felt so bad. We all quickly got to work to save all that laundry from getting soiled. I think of myself back at home complaining about all that laundry I have to do. I've got machines that do most of it! What is wrong with me?!
The poverty and suffering in that country is more than I ever could have imagined. I felt like I had been so beyond naive. I felt dirty. I felt disgusted with myself. Our second day there Steve and I had a total breakdown. It was so hard for us to be in that environment and witness so much suffering. We couldn't understand how the world could get so upside down. Why do we in America have so much and these people so little. It certainly didn't seem due to any worthiness on our part. These people seemed so good. So kind. So grateful. Not the complaining type at all.
A few scriptures and stories came to mind.
"Where much is given much is required." This is a test for those that have been given comforts, will they give? Will they help? Will they care? We will be held accountable for everything we have. We will have to one day account for what we did with our health, our money, our time, our blessings. I think thus far in my life, I have failed. Miserably. It was a rude awakening. A painful realization for sure.
We felt overwhelmed. What should we do to help? What can we do? How much? Another scripture came to mind. “Whosoever shall find his life shall lose it and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.” I realized that even though I have lived an ok life up until now, all I've really done most of the time is taken care of myself and those that I care about around me. I need to do more. I need to look beyond that and reach out and lift as many people in need that I can. If I don't do that, my life has lost a great deal of meaning and purpose. Of course I am going to continue to take care of those I love, but I can do more for others.

As I got overwhelmed,
I thought of the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. Jesus was poor. He was in need himself. But here he was seeing a great need; 5000 hungry people. He had hardly enough to care for himself and possibly his close friends with him, and yet he was mindful of the great need all around him. He didn't shake it off and say "Well, I only have enough for me and my family. Wish I could help. Sorry!" Reasonably he could have just fallen on his knees and begged God to make him rich, or give him more so that he can help these people. He didn't do that either. He actually knelt down and took what he had, which was so little and he thanked God for it. Then he gave it all away. All of it. Guess what? You know the story... It fed them all. It was enough and then some. I felt like if I could have a little more faith and give just a little more than I have been giving, then maybe I can see similar miracles in my life. Maybe it will go further than if I am holding back and worrying about myself and my family too much.
I mean, I pay more for my monthly phone bill than most of these people earn in an entire month! Surely I can do ok with used clothes, or clothes that are not so fashionable. Surely I can get by with off-brands of Mac n Cheese and paper plates. There's got to be a little more I can live without so that someone else can have what they desperately need.

Another thing came to mind. We are taught in the scriptures that everyone has been given spiritual gifts or talents. Everyone has them. As I watched these people in Ethiopia it was clear to me what many of them were given as a gift.
Strength.
If someone in America was suffering the way many of these people suffer, they would be in shock. They would be featured on the evening news. There would be fund raisers and 5k races and charity events. And yet, that suffering is the norm in Africa and not much is happening to help them. It's just so hard to swallow.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping. I went through those aisles and realized how crazy it all was. Here I am able to make a quick drive to a store. This store is large and it's filled with food. I can pick up a cart. A cart that I never really thought was a big deal to fill each shopping trip. I can go through all the aisles and I can put whatever I want in this cart. Then I can pay for it without a great deal of stress and worry. I realized this is something entirely foreign to Ethiopians. It made me sick. I got about half of what I'm used to getting and I still felt guilty.

I don't know exactly where to go from here and what exactly I should do as a result of what I've seen and learned. But I hope and pray I will not forget and go back to how I used to be.

Happier post next time. Promise.

All About Hana

Meet our daughter Hana Colleen.
*Again. Photos except for last two, on this post. By Wes and Nina Mullins.*
Hana is the name she was given to her at birth. We've chosen the name Colleen for her middle name after my Grandmother who is a very special woman and who served a mission in Africa.
Hana is a total sweetheart! She loves openly and easily without fear.

Little things make her incredibly happy and grateful.

I never introduced myself to these kids as "Mommy" and I never asked them to call me that. So when Hana just started spontaneously calling me Mommy on the third day, it melted my heart. I would hear her saying it all the time. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" while she reached out for me to hold her hand, or to play with her. It was like she was just so happy to have someone she could actually call mother again. I felt lucky I get to be the one to do it. She was somewhat possessive of me and although she was willing to share my attention with the other children, she tried to enjoy as much of it herself as she could.

We met Hana's Grandmother on our second day there. She lives hours away but made the journey to Addis to see Hana, and come to court and meet us as well. We spent a few hours with her on the 2nd day, even more on the 3rd day and another few hours on the 4th day. She is an incredible woman. Her gentleness combined with utter strength and just the right dose of humor reminded me of my Grandma Bailey. So it was so easy to fall in love with this woman. We had lots of time interviewing her and learned so much about Hana's history.
This is Hana modeling her new dress I brought her. She pranced out of that changing room like a princess on cloud 9. Too cute.
Now I will tell you about Hana's life and history.
Hana was born in either December or January 5 years ago. She was born in the home of her parents. She was a very sweet and easy baby. She did not cry much. She grew to be happy and fun and spunky. She had several little friends she'd spend her day with. We got their names and information about their families as well.
She was the youngest of 4 children. Two brothers that have a different father. They are 12 and 13. Then she has a sister who shares both the same mother and father. She is 10. Hana loves her sister Liyu, which means "Unique" in their language.
They have lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. Hana's Grandparents are alive as well.
When Hana was 3 years old, her father fell quite ill for 2 months. He soon died of AIDS. He was a Taylor by profession. Her mother who had only stayed home to care for the home and children, soon got quite sick herself. But she went to work as a maid to support the family. It was only 6 months later that Hana's mother died. This time Hana took it much harder. She cried for days.
Hana's Mother's Mother, (the woman pictured above that we met,) took the children home with her to care for them. This Grandmother did not have the money to bury her daughter. Her daughter didn't have the money to bury her husband. In both cases, family and friends rallied around and gave what little money they could as they were all in desperate need themselves, and paid for these people to be buried. They were buried at St. George Church there in the town/village they lived in. There was not enough money to eat her grandmother told us, so there was certainly not enough money to put a gravemarker at their graves to indicate who they were and where they were laid to rest. But she knows.
Hana's Grandmother is old and frail. She is uneducated. She does not even know how to write her own name. She was in awe and thrilled by the hustle and bustle of the big city there in Addis. She was not use to seeing cars and traffic. Those three days were quite the adventure for her and I think she relished it. She just stayed at the orphanage much of the time where she slept with her sweet granddaughter and was well fed. At home to earn money, she gathers firewood and sells it. She also needs to beg for the leftover food the local hotel has to throw out.
This past Fall, she decided she needed to give up Hana. One of the brother's currently lives with an aunt or cousin. None of the family is in a great position to become the guardians of these children. So in September Hana was taken to Addis by an older friend and brought to the same orphanage that our son is in. She's been happy and well.
We asked Hana's grandmother what she wanted us to tell Hana as she grows, what she wants us to teach her and if she had any requests of us. She asked that I love her like I love my own children. Easy! She asked that we teach her and educate her well about everything that we can. She asked that we tell her about her Grandmother. She said the family is faithfully Christian and she wants that tradition continued as well. All of those requests were simple and we were happy to agree to it all.
This child has a very loving personality. She is fun and playful, yet kind and gentle. She loves babies and often liked to carry the babies in the orphanage around. She easily attaches and bonds to those around her and easily gets past trials that have come her way. You will all love her as well!

Over the Hill

I've been teasing Steve a lot this year about turning 40. It's been so much fun that the kids have been getting into it. Celeste said today to Steve "Were you from the 'Land Before Time'?" He's been a good sport.
This guy is the best!
So yeah, today he turned 40. I can't believe he is that old! (Obligatory reminder. I am only 32. Ahem. But the painful reminder is that we look the same age. Ahem. No fair!) A couple of weeks ago I started planning a surprise party for him. The first he's ever had. I found a local restaurant that we like that has a party room. I reserved it. I invited all of his family (sibs and their spouses and kids) that were local and all of mine. Lets refer to the place as BOP hereafter. They all agreed to show up before we got there and sit in the party room to surprise us when we arrived.
So the kids approached me a few days before we left for Africa and asked if they could throw him a surprise party. I ended up telling them they can't because I already was. Mistake #1. Here are all the things that happened that went right over my sweet, gullible husband's head over the last couple weeks leading up to this surprise party.
1- Becca told him about his party. But he didn't hear because he was on the treadmill and not really paying attention to her.
2- The kids were so giddy and excited they kept referring to it without totally giving it away.
3- Today, the day of the party I asked Steve if it was ok if the kids and I took him out to dinner at BOP. He said he wasn't sure he wanted to go there. He thought going somewhere closer might be better. He started looking to see if there were closer locations or considering different options. I was inwardly panicking.
4- I just tell him "I really want to go to BOP. I am craving it. Can we please go?!"
5- A huge snowstorm hits with wind gusts about 30 minutes prior to departure.
6- He then begins to really persist that if we must go out to dinner tonight we really ought to stay close to home. Again, I'm telling him, I am really really wanting BOP!
7- He has something with work happen and he tells me that he needs to work and we will have to leave later.
8- Power goes out from the storm momentarily a couple of times pulling him away from work. Thank goodness. The kids and I just start getting loaded up in the car whether or not he was gonna be able to break away from work. He finally does.
9- We get going and as he is driving in this weather he keeps persisting about going elsewhere. He suggests a few other places to go closer to home. I say "I'm sorry I'm being selfish on your birthday but I just really want to eat there please! We can go wherever you want when it's my birthday in return." The kids are getting upset because he keeps wanting to go elsewhere. He finally gives in.
10- We get to the restaurant and I see at least two of our families very unique and easy to spot cars in the parking lot. We parked just a couple of cars away from both of them. He doesn't notice.
11- From the parking lot I could see the window open with all of our family sitting in a room together. Before Steve notices I bang on the window and tell them to close the blinds.
12- We walk in and I lead him to the room. He's confused as to why we are just walking right on in while there are people waiting to be seated.

Then just as we walk past the wall of windows to the room that everyone is in, he is actually looking the opposite direction. He doesn't notice or suspect a thing until he walks into this room and there sits all of our family. And it felt priceless. And he truly did not ever suspect a thing he says. And how do I know that he's telling me the truth? Because this man cannot and will not ever tell a lie. It's my favorite quality about him. The ability to pull a surprise like this over his eyes so easily is probably my second favorite thing. It was a great night! So much fun.

Love you Steve! You are the best husband. You're way too good to me and our kids. We all love, adore, and respect you tremendously.

All About Andy

Meet our son. Andrew Andualem Bishop.
*First 5 photos in this post taken by Nina & Wes Mullins*

He likes soccer.

He is a real thinker and has a very tender heart.

He loves deeply.

This is Andy's brother Esubalew. He is 23 years old. He loves Andy very much and he met with us our last day in Ethiopia to tell us all about their life and history. It was an amazing meeting.

Also our last day there, I took Andy into the bedroom and showed him a new outfit I had bought just for him. As soon as I pulled the clothes out of the bag, he immediately, without reservation or embarrassment ripped off his dirty old clothes and put on his new ones. He loved them!

Before we left that last day we also sat down with Andy and Hana and an interpreter and talked with them for a while. It was a very sweet conversation. My favorite parts of it was hearing the children tell us they loved us and were happy we were adopting them and that they would pray for us every day until we got back. We made a paper chain together. I told the children to remove one chain each day and that before all the paper was gone, we will be back for them to bring them home. Andy hung it on his bed. We should be going back in as soon as two weeks and as late as maybe 8 weeks. We made enough paper chains for 8 weeks.

Now let me tell you more in detail about the life this precious boy.
He is the youngest of 6 children. The oldest two have passed away. One was a boy who died as a baby. Esubalew did not know the cause. The other was a sister. She was 15 and walking to school one day when she was hit by a city bus and killed.
Then there is Esubalew who is 23. Esubalew lived with his Father's mother for the first 13 years of his life. She loved him and cared for him well. When she passed away, he stayed in her home. Because of living away from the family, Esubalew was not around when Andy was born and doesn't know how old he is or much about Andy as a baby. Then there is another brother who is 16 and a sister who is 14.
Their mother was a beautiful woman who was kind but very stubborn. She stayed home and cared for the children and home. Their father worked in an office that did coffee exports. He was a very kind and gentle man. He was quiet and never shouted at anyone in the family.
When Esubalew was 18 years old their mother died of AIDS. A month later their father died of AIDS as well. Esubalew gave up his Grandmother's home and went back to his parents home to be the father and caretaker of his three younger siblings. He said the strain was so terrible at first he had a total mental breakdown. He was 18 and suddenly the single father of 3. The grandparents he knew were all dead. The others he never had known of. He knows of no Aunts or Uncles. He soon had a wife and a child of his own living with them as well. He works hard each day as a day laborer. Finding a job doing parking fees and what-not each day for a typical wage; less than a dollar a day. He paid and still pays rent, purchases food, pays for the children's schooling and care. His wife recently took his 3 year old daughter and left him.
Andy is a very quiet boy. Very gentle. Just like his father. After his parent's death Andy got even more withdrawn. He missed his parents terribly. He didn't like to leave the house or play. He'd stay at home and listen to religious music and be very quiet.
The strain on Esubalew got to be too much. He decided to give his brother and sister up to the government to be put in an orphanage. He decided to keep Andy and give up the other two siblings.
But when he got to the government office to relinquish his rights to the children, he met a friend there who talked to him. This friend advised Esubalew to give up Andy instead. He suggested it would be better since he was young. I imagine he thought it would be easier to care for the older siblings and that Andy could have an easier chance for adoption than the older children. Esubalew didn't want to. He said he would go home and think about it. So he did. I believe it was a month later, he went back and agreed to relinquish Andy.
Andy was taken in. Esubalew did not tell him what he was doing. He told him he was going to the zoo. Esubalew just couldn't tell him the truth, it was just too hard for him. Andy entered the orphanage in February of 2008. The paperwork says that Andy was 5 at that time. So that makes him 8 now. Esubalew is sure he is not older than 8. Although Andy says he is 9. We feel bad we will have to burst that bubble.
When Andy arrived there, he was very sad and missed his family. But at the same time he was happy to have food to eat and to have a bed to sleep in and clothes to wear and to be able to shower. He felt sad about the horrible life he knew his family was suffering while he was no longer suffering. He didn't talk much. He didn't smile. He still doesn't smile a whole lot and he still doesn't talk much. He is so concerned about those around him, that he does not seem to worry about himself. But he has gotten much much better. He is much happier. He says he is happy. He plays and socializes more.
Esubalew went to visit Andy not too long ago. Andy told him that he understood his suffering. It makes Andy very sad to see the suffering of his family. He told Esubalew "I am being adopted by a good family. I will come back some day and make your life better." We know he will. He wants to, and we want to help him to.
We asked Esubalew what he wanted us to teach Andy. He said "To be a football (soccer in America) player." We agreed of course!
He also told us how spiritual their family was. Their parents were very religious and that was very important to them. He would like us to continue that. They are Christian. We were happy to agree to that as well.
We got a lot more information, but that is a bit of the highlights of it.
He expressed his gratitude for us adopting him.
We love Esubalew and his family. They are wonderful people.
We feel that Andy is a very special boy. His heart is so tender and giving and we feel someday he will fulfill a special mission.
You will all love him!

Meetcha Day Sunday January 30, 2011

How do you write about something that is one of the greatest days of your life? I choke up when I see these pictures and remember this incredible day. It reminds me of the moment when each of my biological children were born. You go through something so intense, so difficult, and then so beautiful, something beyond words. Adoption brings feelings every bit as difficult, intense, tender, and full of love. Beyond words.

Let me start by saying that all of the photos in this post were taken by Wes and Nina Mullins. Two people we consider dear and true friends. We love and admire these two. They are good people and very talented. They came with us on this special day and not only took these photos, but took video. Thanks Wes and Nina! If you are looking for photographers, we definitely recommend.
When we arrived at the orphanage, we were invited into the Director's office. I was just anxious to meet the kids, but we survived the extra 5 minute or so wait. We then were escorted out to the entrance of where the children stay. We watched as they all piled outside together. We immediately spotted our two children. Tears of joy and giant grins could not be held back.
Then they began to approach us.





After all the initial greetings, we played together.
We hugged and kissed lots and lots that day and even more on the days following. The more we hugged and kissed the more natural and comfortable it felt.
All of the children in the orphanage were the best children you would ever meet. Extremely sweet, good, gentle, fun, smart, talented, grateful and loving. We fell in love with all of these children and it breaks my heart that we cannot bring each and every one of them home! The boys often flocked around Steve and girls flocked around me.
I promise you that you absolutely can love an adoptive child every bit as much as your biological children.
One thing I know from this trip, like I know the sun will rise tomorrow, is that we were definitely supposed to adopt these children. It is a miracle God led us to them. They are extremely special. They will touch every life that has the gift to know them. I pray we can bless their lives too.
Every child deserves a chance to have a home, a family, food, clothing, love, and a mom and a dad to love and care for them. I have much more I want to tell you. I will tell you more in future posts. I hope you don't get sick of hearing about it!

But just one more thing now before I wrap this up...
When we were leaving a boy who I can't tell you enough amazing things about and who I bonded to so much while there asked me if we would adopt him too. Talk about ripping someone's heart out! I could not tell him yes. It hurts so much to think about! I have had dreams about these children since we have left. About taking them all home. I know I can't. I hate that feeling! When he realized I could not take him, this was his second request: "Will you bring us shoes?" These children have the most awful shoes! They are all rubber, cheap, trashy, broken, worn out, rubber. They are slip-ons. They share. They play soccer in these shoes. I told him "Yes!" He then asked me a few times to make sure we were clear, "15 shoes for everyone". Of course I agreed. I traced all of their feet. I want to buy a nice new pair of tennis shoes for each of these children to bring back. Think of it! These children have probably never owned their own pair of shoes. New shoes, NEVER. Nice shoes, NEVER. This would be like Christmas Day times 100 to them. They would be so thrilled! If you are interested in pitching in so we can do this, drop me a line. If you are interested in adopting one of the most special children in the world, call me ASAP!

News from Addis

We are doing so great here! All has gone better than we could have hoped for. Each day with our children gets better and better. They are very sweet and gentle and affectionate with us. The affection is more and more strong and sincere. Yesterday they each said to us, "I love you Mama. I love you Papa." We have completely treasured all moments with them.

We had court yesterday. Both Andy's family and Hana's family came to court. But, by the time we got there, Andy's family had left. We are hoping to meet them later. They live nearby. We have spent probably 7 hours with Hana's grandmother. She lives hours away but made the journey here to see Hana, us and come to court. WE have a very special relationship with her and a strong bond was made. We interviewed her for probably a total of 2 hours with a translator. I took notes, Steve video recorded it and we got photos too. Lots of tears, kisses and hugs were exchanged. She was profoundly grateful and happy to have Hana come to our family. She said she can die in peace now. We hope she lives many more years though. She is 66, which is quite old for Ethiopians.

At court we saw the judge and our notes on our case were good. We were approved. Hana's case is completely 100% finished. She is legally our daughter. Andy's case is approved, but they asked for a better copy of just one document. Our facilitator told us it will be very easy for him to do that. He will get it submitted immediately and he will report back in court on this next Tuesday and Andy's adoption will then be final as well. So, it was really wonderful news!

We have had the experience of a lifetime. Something we will treasure and be grateful for forever.

We will blog more when we get home.