Friendship forged through fire ...

Pictured from left to right: Emme, Grace, Lila, Ella, Maea, Wesley, Will, Jayden and John.  (Hutchinson 5 + Wistrom 4)

When we travelled to Ethiopia 17 months ago to bring home our two sons, we travelled with another family (the Hutchinsons) who "just happened" to be from Minnesota, and who "just happened" to be adopting two daughters, and who "just happened" to live less than an hour from us.  What are the odds of that? 

Our adoption agency, America World Adoption (http://www.awaa.org/) works with families from all over the U.S., and somehow we "just happened" to travel at the exact same time with only one other family - the Hutchinsons. 

We started our adoption journeys at different times, and yet we went through the extreme trials of not passing court (too many times to count) and then getting delayed for two months while the courts closed, and then having rules change during the court closure, and not passing court again when they re-opened.  And then finally the call came, one day earlier than we anticipated ... YOU PASSED COURT AND YOU HAVE TWO SONS! (and for the Hutchinsons - TWO DAUGHTERS!)

During that time period, when everything seemed to go wrong and the "wait" became an extreme trial, our two families learned to lean heavily upon each other - encouraging each other and shedding tears of sadness and frustration together.  I feel like ours was a friendship forged through fire - and now it is so refined and so pure and so ... comfortable and right.  There are so many difficult days in the adoption journey (they are vastly outweighed by the days filled with wonder and joy over this miracle that IS adoption) - and to be able to walk that road with another family that understands and relates to EVERYTHING ... is nothing short of amazing!

Last Saturday evening, our two families spent the evening together around a bonfire and the kids immediately picked up where they left off!

Wesley (4),  Ella (2) and Grace (4).

The boy and the frog ...

Oh the wonder! 

"Mom!" he exclaimed, all breathless and quiet.  "Mom, LOOK!"

After the shock wore off, and Wesley realized

he was not about to be eaten. 

He began to smile as the frog slowly climbed across his face

with his cold, little suction-cup toes. 

And Wesley grinned and said,

"Mom ... HE LIKES ME!!!!"

Another little treasure ...

When my daughters were about 4 & 5 years old, they painstakingly wrote me a note for Mother's Day.  In their pre-school handwriting, they conspired together and wrote me a letter.  I still have that letter, framed and sitting in my bedroom.  Here's what it said ... exactly as it was written with a cute combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and different colors of glitter marker:

We LOVe YOu MOM!
YOu SMeLL really PrEttY
YOu PLAY WITH US ALL THe TIMe
YOu LOVe US A LOTS
YOu reAd US Good StorIeS
YOu HeLp US WHEN We GeT HUrt
YOu HeLP US MAKE STUFF
YOu MAKe our HAIr LOOK PRettY
YOu drAW ELEPHANTS ANd GIrAFES
YOu MAKE GOOd BroWNIeS ANd muFFINS ANd COOkIeS
YOu LOOK PrettY
We LOVe YOU MOM!
LOVe, EMMeLYN . MAEA

Today, I got another Mother's Day note that really made me smile.  This one was from Jayden (our 9 year old son, adopted from Ethiopia about 16 months ago), and he worked with his teacher to write exactly what he wanted to say.

  This is another Mother's Day note that I'll keep forever.

Happy Mother's Day to all the spectacular mom's out there!  You are making a lasting and loving impression on your kids even when you don't realize it!!

Look at what you've done!

Dear Friends - I am so excited to share pictures of the kids at Kind Hearts when they received their new school uniforms TODAY!!  Back on March 5, we completed a fund-raiser so that we could purchase school uniforms for all of the kids at Kind Hearts.  And just 2 months later, the kids are absolutely overjoyed to have brand new school uniforms.  Can you imagine??? I not only see pure, giddy joy in their faces, I see pride.

These kids have never had anything "new" before.  They are used to getting discarded remnants of clothing that don't fit and are already stained and worn out.  They watch the other kids - you know, the ones with a mommy and a daddy - with their new clothes and their nice uniforms.  Those uniforms designate them as very special children because they have the privilege of attending school.

Kids in Ethiopia know precisely what an education means.  It means the difference between a life of opportunity and a life of grinding poverty, sickness ... and death.  Education costs money, and parents pay a monthly fee so that their kids can attend school.  In Ethiopian culture, if you attend school, you wear a uniform.  Every morning, the streets fill with hundreds, thousands of children, in their matching uniforms, meeting at the street corners to walk to school together.

Because our kids at Kind Hearts have been identified by the local government as among the neediest and most destitute in the area, they have been granted the amazing opportunity to go to school.  They recognize that it is a very special privilege, and they are thankful.

Ever since each child was matched with a sponsor (in January), they now count on nutritious meals at school so they can concentrate on their studies.  But they show up in dirty, smelly clothes that are tattered and torn, and stained and stinky.

But today - something very important happened. 

They received an incredibly meaningful and tangible reminder of the love and concern of their sponsor family. 

Today was a very good day for our kids at Kind Hearts. 

And there are many, many more good days to come!

If you are interested in sponsoring a child at Kind Hearts, and making a most amazing difference in their lives, please contact me at kjwistrom@yahoo.com.  Currently, every child at Kind Hearts is sponsored, but there will be more children enrolling soon.  Please don't put it off for another day, send me an email today and I will contact you as soon as more children enroll!

About a month ago, each of the kids at Kind Hearts was measured for a new uniform.  (Above) The school uniforms as they are being bagged and delivered.

The school uniforms as they being sewn for each child.

The kids at Kind Hearts moments before the van arrived with their new school uniforms!

Don't they look so handsome and beautiful???!!!  I was hoping for beautiful shades of blue and that's exactly what we got!

THANKFUL!!

One of the things that made an impact on me when I visited "Kind Hearts" in Ethiopia (in December), was how little the kids actually had - no school books, tattered clothing, shoes with holes, very little food, a crooked little swingset with 2 swings, and a broken teeter-totter ... and for many of the kids, no mommy or daddy.  And yet the joy these kids displayed at our mere presence was overwhelming and quite humbling.

The swingset at Kind Hearts in Ethiopia, shared by 68 kids (above).  The playground equipment in our neighborhood shown with our two sons from Ethiopia (below).

I've posted the picture of the crooked swingset many times on my blog, and one of our sponsor families, Alisa and Vince Martin, contacted me with an idea.  Now that the basic needs of the kids are being met through sponsorship (food, clothing, medical care, education and Christian discipleship), Alisa wanted to focus on the playground equipment.

Alisa offered to make hand-made, personalized Mother's Day cards and donate her time, material and postage so that 100% of the funds raised could go to Kind Hearts.  We encouraged everyone we knew to skip the $5 store-bought card, and instead donate that same $5 (or more) to Kind Hearts - for the playground equipment fund.

116 cards ordered (and being mailed to 30 different states) has resulted in .... (insert balloons, confetti and applause here) .... OVER $1,400 RAISED FOR PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT AT KIND HEARTS!

We already had $250 of donations in this fund so we now have a total of OVER $1,650!!

A good set of equipment will cost $2850.  We are more than half-way to our goal.  If you are interested in giving a one-time gift to the playground equipment fund at Kind Hearts, please contact me at kjwistrom@yahoo.com.

I. AM. AMAZED! 

I shouldn't be (because I have seen so many people come together on behalf of these precious kids before). 

But I am. 

AMAZED and THANKFUL!

We will continue to focus on the final funds for the equipment, and will update you on this blog when we have achieved our goal.  And of course, we'll have pictures to share when the kids first set eyes on their new "toys"!

It's all fun and games until ....

You know the old saying ... It's all fun and games, until ... someone gets hurt.

After a soccer game on Tuesday evening, I realized - with four kids, we have not experienced a broken bone yet ... until Tuesday.

Emme's first soccer scrimmage of the season - and she was playing really well. Angling in to score a goal, with her body focusing all it's energy on the ball, her opponent collided with her and she went down - hard.

I knew instantly it was a bad injury. Her body just kindof caved in around itself as she got to her feet and walked slowly to the sideline.

I could see by the way she carried herself she was in a lot of pain. I watched as she got to the sideline on the other side of the field, and the coach and her put their heads together - and suddenly the coach's head snapped up to search the sidelines where the parents were sitting.

That was my cue to walk to the other side. He met me half-way and said "I haven't told her yet - but her wrist is broken. You'll need to get her to the hospital right away."

By the time I reached Emme - she was cradling her wrist against her stomach, and she had that sickly white palor to her face, and was trembling. Every little seam we crossed on the highway sent a fresh jolt of pain through her. X-rays showed that she had indeed broken her wrist, at a growth plate, and would need to see an orthopedic surgeon. Words like "surgery" and "pins" floated about.

Long story short ... she spent that first night wracked with pain, sleeping fitfully for only a few hours on the couch. After a consult with the surgeon - she'll get a cast on Monday (after the swelling has gone down) and the surgeon is fairly confident that it will heal correctly and quickly without surgery and without pins.

We are fortunate!

She is supporting her team from the sidelines today. She'll get a cast on Monday, and will be able to play again perhaps by next weekend. She'll need a pad for her cast so that she doesn't inadvertently (or purposefully) club another player.

She asked me later, "Mom, have you ever broken a bone?" "Yes," I told her, "but it was only my neck." (A diving accident when I was a freshman in high school. I too - am very fortunate.)

She looked at me and said "Oh, I forgot." And not to minimize the pain she was in, I smiled and said, "But I'm sure your injury is much worse." She snorted a laugh at me and then winced in pain because it jolted her wrist.

In other fun and games ... Wesley wanted to play "Kerplunk" but I don't think this is what he had in mind. He was amused ... but not nearly as amused as I was.


And no - this wasn't the kids' idea of fun - it was MY idea of fun.

That's how I roll. (I use "hip" language like that just for the affectionate reaction I get from my daughters - they roll their eyes at me.)

If you think our game of "Kerplunk" looks fun, you should see how we play "Mousetrap"!

BLOG GIVEAWAY!!

So - I'm curious about the silly games you play with your kids? You know, the ones that really bring out the belly laughs!? Leave me a comment so we can share in the hilarity. Or just leave me a comment to enter the giveaway.

Every comment will go in a drawing for Tom Davis' book "RED LETTERS, Living a Faith that Bleeds".

Children's Hopechest (http://www.hopechest.org/) gave me a new copy of the book at the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) Summit meeting here in Minneapolis yesterday. It's one of my favorite books and I want one of you to have it! When you leave a comment, make sure I know how to contact you in case YOU are the lucky winner!

And please don't forget to click over to Alisa Martin's blog to purchase a personalized, hand-made Mother's Day card. ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT! Alisa will be mailing the cards on Monday - and 100% of the proceeds will go to Kind Hearts in Ethiopia for playground equipment. Alisa is donating her time, material and postage.

This weekend - instead of going to the store for a Mother's Day card, spend that same $5 (or more) to celebrate your Mom and make a difference for the kids at Kind Hearts in Ethiopia. So far - we have raised just over $1,100 with the Mother's Day cards. The playground equipment will cost $2,850. Please click over to http://www.vinceandalisa.blogspot.com/ and give generously on behalf of your mom!


This is the playground equipment (above) at Kind Hearts - a crooked little swingset with two swings, shared between 68 kids. And below is the playground equipment at our little neighborhood park.

A Mother's Day Gift with a Deeper Meaning!

Alisa Martin's sweet little boy Micah (adopted from Ethiopia) is holding a Kind Hearts Mother's Day Celebration Card. Instead of spending $5 on a store-bought card, please consider spending that same $5 (or more) on a personalized card that benefits Kind Hearts while it celebrates your mom!

Mother's Day is officially 2 WEEKS AWAY!! Instead of going to the store and perusing cards to find a heart-felt message for your mom - would you consider spending that same $5.00 for a hand-made, personalized card that honors your mom, and blesses the children at Kind Hearts in Ethiopia? Alisa Martin (who is making the cards) is generously donating her time, materials and postage so that 100% of the funds go directly to Kind Hearts. (Click here to purchase a card - provide your mom's name and your name, and her mailing address.)

Alisa will be mailing the Mother's Day cards on Monday, May 3 so that they arrive in plenty of time before Mother's Day on May 9. Each card is personalized with your Mom's name and your name - and explains that a donation was made in her honor to Kind Hearts in Ethiopia. Click over to Alisa's blog and follow the easy and secure paypal link to order a card today. You are welcome to donate any amount - $5, $10, $25, $50 or more. It's quick, easy and secure, and it's a very unique and special way to celebrate your mom!

Alisa (who is an adoptive mom and also sponsors a child at Kind Hearts) explains, "This Mother's Day, I don't want a single gift...I want nothing...other than the opportunity to be a surrogate mother of-sorts to these lonely, hurting children. And I pray that you will join me this Mother's Day! Join me, and stand in the gap for mothers who are unable to feed, clothe and educate their precious little ones!"

The funds generated from the Mother's Day Celebration Cards will be designated for the playground equipment fund at Kind Hearts. Presently, there are 68 children at Kind Hearts, who were literally starving when I visited them in December. They were weak and lethargic, and the care-point was only able to provide a meal of rice one time each week.

By the end of January, every child at Kind Hearts had been matched with a sponsor family, whose $34 monthly committment ensures that their sponsor child gets nutritious meals every day, as well as clothing, medical care, education and Christian discipleship. We have had two separate groups visit the kids at Kind Hearts since then, and these kids' lives have been transformed - and they know they have the love, prayers and concern of a family here in the U.S. that they are getting to know through letters.

But our goal for Kind Hearts is not only to provide basic needs for these kids. Instead of being a place to survive, we want the kids at Kind Hearts to thrive!! With that in mind, we are focusing on several capital projects to develop Kind Hearts so that the care-point becomes more self-sufficient and can serve even more children and add more grade levels.

A fresh-water well is one of the first necessities - which will allow us to then develop a chicken farm on the property (for fresh eggs and meat - protein for the kids' meals and funds from egg sales) as well as bathrooms, showers and a kitchen. The fresh-water well will cost abut $15,000 and St. Joseph Christian school has raised $12,000 so far!

Another one of our capital projects is playground equipment for the kids. A beat-up teeter-totter and a rickety swing-set (pictured below) are the only "toys" the Kind Hearts kids have - and they are shared between all 68 kids. Playground equpiment provides a much-needed place for a kid to just be a kid!

A good set of playground equipment will cost $2850. We will announce our progress on this blog and we will feature pictures of the new equipment when we are able to purchase it (hopefully shortly after Mother's Day!!).

Please click here for Alisa's blog - the paypal button is in the upper right corner.