two children, two lives, one love

There is no one but us.

2011-10-13T10:31:00.002-05:00

I am over in Ethiopia right now working for Glimmer - I'm in Addis, but I've been in the south and around Gonder in Amhara, heading to Tigrey this weekend. It's been a while since I posted - as you can guess, adoption news has slowed way down. This trip has meant much to me -- and I have fallen in love with the people over here.

Below is an Annie Dillard quote that I have been thinking about a lot while on the road over here. Mainly there will never be a perfect time - that's not awkward - when you have your crap together to follow God's path. We are all broken people, and his people have always been that way. It's really empowering when you start thinking about it. Totally inspired.

“A blur of romance clings to our notions of “publicans,” “sinners,” “the poor,” “the people in the marketplace,” “our neighbors,” as though of course God should reveal himself, if at all, to these simple people, these Sunday school watercolor figures, who are so purely themselves in their tattered robes, who are single in themselves, while we now ae various, complex, and full at heart. We are busy. So, I see now, were they. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? There is no one but us. There is no one to send, nor a clean hand, nor a pure heart on the face of the earth, nor in the earth, but only us, a generation comforting ourselves with the notion that we have come at an awkward time, that our innocent fathers are all dead – as if innocence has ever been – and our children busy and troubled, and we ourselves unfit, not yet ready, having each of us a chosen wrongly, made a false start, failed, yielded to impulse and the tangled comfort of pleasures, and grown exhausted, unable to seel the thread, weak, and involved. But there is no one but us. There never has been. There have been generations which remembered, and generations that which forget; there has never been a generation of whole men and women who lived well for even a day.” – Annie Dillard, Holy the Firm

Blessings, C

Want to Know What's Going on in Ethiopia & the Adoption Slowdown?

2011-07-15T14:13:00.000-05:00

Jamie Dean @WORLD Magazine does a good job of explaining the cause of the slowdown in Ethiopia for American's waiting to adopt. There are a lot of false information out there.Take a look at this article that came out today in World Magazine. It does a good job of explaining where things stand and how they got there. It also addresses the lack of facts to back up the corruption rumors. Tell me what you think!

WORLD Magazine | Life or death | Jamie Dean | Jul 30, 11

www.worldmag.com

WORLD Magazine | Life or death | With international adoptions harder and harder to process and a slowdown in Ethiopia, the second-largest source of hope for American parents wanting to adopt overseas, the outcome can be heartbreak, or worse | Jamie Dean | Jul 30 11 |

Child Brides - National Geographic June Issue

2011-07-08T17:18:00.002-05:00

Photo taken by Stephanie Sinclair

www.stephaniesinclair.com

Here is a link to a series of photographs titled 'Too Young to Wed' of child brides that appeared in the June Issue of National Georgraphic. While child brides are illegal in many countries the practice of marring children still takes place often in the wee hours of the night.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/child-brides/sinclair-photography

It's hard to imagine what it would be like to be married at 5, 10 or even 14 years old.

Are you adopting?

2011-07-08T11:10:00.000-05:00

Or have u already? Hooray! I'd love to follow ur story. Please leave ur blog or twitter handle. My Twitter handle is cleighholder.

What's your answer?

2011-07-06T13:41:00.000-05:00

What's your answer to @NickKristof's question about how to report on hard things in Africa without promoting a grim view of all of Africa?

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/how-should-we-cover-africa/

making the leap to Twitter...yikes!

2011-06-29T16:56:00.002-05:00

here is my new handle: cleighholder

send me yours!

Enjoying Beth Moon's Ethereal Photos...

2011-06-29T16:15:00.001-05:00

Do u have a favorite photographer?

http://www.bethmoon.com/TKC04.html

Austin's 1st Ethiopian Culture Day June 18th!

2011-05-25T09:48:00.004-05:00

Love Africa? Or better yet, love Ethiopian food?! Come out to Austin's 1st Annual Ethiopian Culture Day! Scott and I will be there if you want to meet up.

Need a BIG smile? Watch 'Whip My Hair'

2011-05-24T12:24:00.002-05:00

You know Will Smith, but have you met his 10-year-old daughter Willow Smith? Check out her fun hip hop moves as she sings 'Whip My Hair'. You gotta love that spunk and hair!

Summer in the Sun, Here We Come

2011-05-17T17:07:00.000-05:00

A busy last few weeks, but we're back. Scott and I both were traveling for work last week -- Dallas for me, Denver for him. This weekend we kicked it closer to home exploring the Pearl's farmers market and the art museum in San Antonio with some friends. Now its time to make some fun in the sun plans that will keep the baking heat at bay, especially since it looks unlikely we'll be jetting over to Ethiopia anytime soon.

Last summer we spent most weekends figuring out how to dry wall our half finished apartment behind our house. This year's summer plans? more outdoor adventures. We've already begun playing with the idea of going camping in New Mexico for Memorial Day...so if anyone know of a good park in the mountains let me know.

Here's what's on my hit list. Let me know what I'm missing!
1. Swimming in Comal (all summer)
2. Camping in Marfa
3. Lavender Farm in Fredricksburg
4. Lakehouse with my sister's family
5. Seaworld -- can you believe that Scott's never been! really want to pet some sea creatures.
6. Kayaking the Guadalupe River
7. Footloose play at Zilker Park
8. Fishing somewhere...
9. Some 10K races..any suggestions?
10. Old movies at the Paramount (yes, it's not 'outdoors' but it's a summer must!)
11. Amy's ice cream
12. Rock Climbing in the Green Belt
13. Dancing at old dance halls like Coupland
14. Others???

Video of Ethiopian Orphans

2011-04-22T10:59:00.002-05:00

Sometimes we need to put a face to the idea of 5 million orphans living in Ethiopia today. This video shows footage of a number of orphanages in Ethiopia, including the Kolfe Orphanage for boys in Addis.

Ethiopian Orphans from Simon Scionka on Vimeo. HopeChest.org put out this video in 2008.

My sweet friend Shanna reminded me this week of Psalm 23:13, and it's stuck with me. It reminded me that God's goodness will be seen in this life, and in the lives of the poorest, and weakest. Please join me in praying for these children. As God cares for the sparrows, he also cares more for these.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 23:13

We could, you know. We can live any way we want. From Annie Dillard

2011-04-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

"We could, you know. We can live any way we want. People take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience -- even of silence -- by choice. The thing is to stalk your calling in a certain skilled and supple way, to locate the most tender and live spot and plug into that pulse. This is yielding, not fighting. A weasel doesn't "attack" anything; a weasel lives as he's meant to, yielding at every moment to the perfect freedom of single necessity.

I think it would be well, and proper, and obedient, and pure, to grasp your one necessity and not let it go, to dangle from it limp wherever it takes you. Then even death, where you're going no matter how you live, cannot you part. Seize it and let it seize you up aloft even, till your eyes burn out and drop; let your musky flesh fall off in shreds, and let your very bones unhinge and scatter, loosened over fields, over fields and woods, lightly, thoughtless, from any height at all, from as high as eagles."

Passage from Annie Dillard's Living Like Weasels in her book Teaching a Stone to Talk

Summary of USCIS' April 6 debriefings on the adoption process in Ethiopia

2011-04-07T14:37:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for a good summary of the recent USCIS April 6 debriefing provided to key players in the adoption world on the status of the adoption process in Ethiopia, check out this blog. I expect the timeline for the adoption process in Ethiopia will continue to shift as gov't agencies look to provide better oversight. There may also be hope that the slowdown could be temporary. All in all, things continue to look up.

Artist Sara Lathan! Check out her new website.

2011-03-30T20:55:00.001-05:00

Highway by Sara Lathan

My dear friend Sara launched her new art website -- which I love! Check her out.

http://paintersara.wordpress.com/paintings/ Sara has a gift at capturing the spirit of a thing -- whether it be a night or a person. Below is Cinco de Mayo in St Louis that she nailed, and caught both our friends in their element. Sara -- it brings it all back!

Joint Council Update on Ethiopia Adoptions

2011-03-16T10:29:00.000-05:00

This is an update copied from the Joint Council website:

ETHIOPIA – UPDATE 3/14/11

Various blogs and listservs are reporting that the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs has announced a revised plan which includes the processing of 20 adoption cases per day. While Joint Council has also been provided with this information, it is our understanding that no decision has been made or announcement published by the Government of Ethiopia.

We believe that it is premature to speculate on the intentions of the Ministry but rather seek to continue to partner with the Government of Ethiopia and use this opportunity to increase child and family protections while continuing intercountry adoption. Joint Council fully supports the government’s efforts to increase the capacity for regulatory oversight of service providers, strengthen the review of each adoption case and expand social services to Ethiopian children and families."

http://www.jointcouncil.org/ethiopia-update-31411/

i have a crush...

2011-03-16T09:11:00.000-05:00

on this blog and organization called "ordinary hero." They share adoptive stories and a photo list of children around the world still waiting for families. You have to request a password to get access to the photo list.
http://www.ordinaryhero.org/ This is one more example of the new generation non-profits getting the word out about the 142 million children around the world that need a home.

Isn't this cutest little t-shirt? So many families are raising up their children from the cradle to think about and help orphans! such a cool movement -- inspiring.Ordinary heroes also has merchandise for adoptive families raising money for their adoptions.

what dreams may come

2011-03-15T16:26:00.000-05:00

Familia 2005 by DeCinti Vive

This painting by DeCinti Vive makes me think of afternoon naps with vivid dreams, spring rain, open windows, and heavy homemade quilts. makes we wish we could remember our dreams better. going to brew some Lady Grey tea now.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Pequea-Amrica-by-DeCinti-Vive/937002

Illustrator Mark Ryden

2011-03-15T14:46:00.002-05:00

Love how this illustration my Mark Ryden captures more than the mere appearance of these children, and communicates something essential about who they are.

http://www.markryden.com/

jolting post on foster care from Campbell who aged out.

2011-03-15T12:52:00.001-05:00

I love this black bird in the "Percolated Paradox" header.

Here is a jolting post on the foster care system from a twenty-something woman named Campbell who aged out of the foster care system. At least it jolted me awake with comments like "The chances of an 8 year old foster child being adopted are pretty small. CPS waited until I was too old and too damaged to be loved by a family." The idea of an 8-year-old being too old to be loved makes my heart sick. And the grim realities of a child returned 12 times to an abusive mother makes my stomach turn. The gritty blog "Percolated Paradox" follows the on going struggles of a young woman who survived foster care. It helps to put a face and story to the some 20,000 children that age out of foster care each year. Campbell bravely shares her raw story with us, and reminds me we must pray and befriend these lonely little ones.

From Percolating Paradox Blog:
When people abuse their animals and the police find out, they usually lose those animals for good. They aren’t given a second, third, or 12^th chance to take care of their pets. With children it's different. Children are removed from their abusive homes only to be given back to the people who abuse them. The law states that biological parents have a right to their children but the legal rights of parents should never trump the human rights of their children. Abusive parents should not be given chance after chance to be decent parents and human beings for their children. CPS removed my siblings and me from our mother at least 12 times before she had her rights removed and was sent to prison for felony child abuse. By the time her rights were removed and I became available for adoption I was 8 years old. The chances of an 8 year old foster child being adopted are pretty small. CPS waited until I was too old and too damaged to be loved by a family. If they had kept me when I was an infant and adopted me out to someone that wanted a baby my life would be so different today. The lives of my siblings would be so different today. I’m not saying my life would have been perfect or easy. I’ve never wanted a perfect or easy life. I just wanted a family that loved me and a place to call home. I just wanted to belong somewhere. That’s all I ever wanted. That’s all any foster child ever wants. They just want to be safe and loved"

To read the full post go here.

"Children Of God" - Official Music Video

2011-03-09T19:09:00.000-06:00

It's been a sad day because of all the delays regarding Ethiopian adoptions. A friend posted this music video called "Children of God" by Third Day. And while I balled, it was a good reminder of God's love. It's about adoption -- be sure to watch the end. Hope you're encouraged.

help.

2011-03-09T08:53:00.000-06:00

please consider signing this petition. there is a movement in Ethiopia to radically slow down the international adoption of orphans. In Ethiopia there are currently 5 million children in need of loving homes.

please pray. please spread the word.

Thanks.

http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43714.html

Help the Anderson's Bring Home 'Little T' from Ethiopia! Fundraiser

2011-03-04T11:50:00.003-06:00

When:Saturday, March 12 9:30 - 11:30 AM

Where:4725 Snake Eagle Cove Austin, TX 78738

Hi Friends. You're invited to help a neat couple bring home their new son ‘Little T’ from Ethiopia!! Come out to a Stella & Dot jewelry party that Scott & I are hosting to support some of our friends who are in the process of adopting their second child from Ethiopia. Ben and Teresa are doing a lot to help give children currently in one of the poorest places on earth a loving home. We'd love your help! We'll serving up killer breakfast tacos at my parents place in Austin. And the jewelry is pretty cool!! Guys you're very welcome to come. (Scott may need some company!)

Ben & Teresa Anderson are excited to bring home 2 children from Ethiopia this year (7 month old baby girl came home right before Christmas & a 7 year old boy will join the family late spring). Teresa has begun selling Stella & Dot to help pay for the adoptions.

I am excited to introduce you to Stella & Dot, a fabulous new line of jewelry that has been featured in InStyle, Lucky, Oprah and on Hollywood's Red Carpet. Whether you're ready to shop or just want to hear about the adoptions, see pictures, or bring donations, please come out and join us for the morning!

DONATIONS! In addition to playing with jewelry, please bring donations for their son Temesgen's orphanage.

BRING FRIENDS ...THE MORE THE MERRIER! THANK YOU FOR HELPING!!!

Can't attend, or want a peek? Go to www.stelladot.com/teresaanderson
Click on “find our hostess” Type in Courtney Holder

Guess where the coffee bean came from??!

2011-03-04T09:22:00.000-06:00

Landscape around Dube Bute in the Oromia Region (southern Ethiopia)

pic taken by Kristin Laughlin

Guess where the coffee bean originated from? Ethiopia!! As a dedicated coffee addict I find this quite exciting. I've been reading up on Ethiopia on Wikipedia, and found lots of fun facts about the different regions and cultures. For instance, I had no idea Ethiopia has the 2nd largest population in Africa, or that there are still active volcano's in eastern Ethiopia. So much to discover about the culture and land of our future children.

It's a diverse land. In the northern part of the country you have deep gorges and steep towering mountain peaks of the Senale Mountains. In the central part of Ethiopia you have the highlands, and a giant rift called the Great Rift that bisects almost half the country. And in the south you have the lush greenery (see the pic above), and coffee crops. Like Texas where I live, in Ethiopia there is so much conflicting terrains smack up against one another -- lush hillsides, deserts, arid mountains, deep canyons that can rival the Grand Canyon, and some of the lowest points on earth. The picture of the south reminds me of what I thought Narnia must look like as a child when I read C. S. Lewis' series. Breathtaking.

And the idilic scenery of some of the areas of Ethiopia makes the contrasting poverty seem even more cruel. To live in such a place filled with beauty and then to only have access to dirty water, hunger, poorly built school buildings, and few health clinics.

The extreme poverty alongside the natural beauty and happiness of the people is a wonder. I have never been to Ethiopia, but I hear from my co-workers at Glimmer, a non-profit that works only in Ethiopia, that the rural people are a joyful, and happy people. Here is one of my favorite pictures of happy children living in dire circumstances. Clearly circumstances do not define your happiness. It makes you wonder what really you need to live a full life?

have you ever fantasized about having a pet FOX?

2011-03-01T11:00:00.002-06:00

I totally have. Well guess who is living the dream? A group in Siberian that has been "taming" and raising a handful of the only domesticated foxes in the world for over half a century. They found out that over time the foxes of each generation have started changing their looks to look more "dog-ish". Their tails have gotten shorter, started to curl, wag, and they are no longer all silver, but lots of different colors. How cool! In fact, they suspect that our breed of dog a "Sheba Inu" comes from foxes! Check out their story in National Geographic -- it's part of a larger story about breeds that humans have domesticated over time -- like umm...pot belly pigs. oink. But unlike piggies, foxes can cuddle! Ok who wants one??

Here is an excerpt:

"Trut reaches in and scoops him up, then hands him over to me. Cradled in my arms, gently jawing my hand in his mouth, he's as docile as any lapdog. Except that Mavrik, as it happens, is not a dog at all. He's a fox. Hidden away on this overgrown property, flanked by birch forests and barred by a rusty metal gate, he and several hundred of his relatives are the only population of domesticated silver foxes in the world. And by "domesticated" I don't mean captured and tamed, or raised by humans and conditioned by food to tolerate the occasional petting. I mean bred for domestication, as tame as your tabby cat or your Labrador."

Read the full article.

My Sheba Inu named Enoch. Maybe a descendant of the fox!

365 days of learning to open my eyes.

2011-02-25T15:48:00.005-06:00

Picture by Esther Havens of Haiti orphans seeing a tray of food coming down the hall.

Today last year, Scott and I submitted our application to adopt from Ethiopia to our dynamite adoption agency Gladney. What a journey! I was giddy with excitement when I pushed that "sent" button that emailed the adoption application. We were finally on our way to becoming parents, and to bringing home children that needed a family. What a thrill to do what Scott and I had imagined doing 3 years ago when we were still dating. That first month I had problems sleeping because I kept wondering what they looked like at 2 am. Were they born yet? Was their family going through something heartbreaking?

Now that we're on the wait list, those 1st-month questions have come back. I'm antsy to see the faces of our children, to get that call that say's we've been matched with our children. But I wouldn't wish away the 365 days of our journey.

It continues to open my eyes. Like Bono reminded me this week, God is always with the vulnerable, and with the poor. And I'm starting to see it.

Last year, the main reason I wanted to adopt was because I wanted it. But the journey continues to change me. This journey has had so many of God's fingerprints all over it that it's been overwhelming. I am not just reading a verse that says God cares about orphans, I am seeing through our story, our friends story, my job at Glimmer, and all those people popping into my life along this path that God is moving to change people's hearts to help the over 140 million orphans in the world. Moving people to act.

People like Esther Havens -- a talented photographer who is using brilliant photos to spread the word and tell the stories of some of the most vulnerable of children. Check out her fabulous photos in a recent exhibit called "telling stories that change stories." You can purchase a print. Here is one of my favorites photos and stories about a young man named David who was forced to be a child solider when he was young, and has found forgiveness and peace from God.

I continue to run into people like Esther that are living a crazy life to help these children. And it's inspiring. And addicting.

Its been a wild, crazy, frustrating ride to get my heart, and feet to go to a place where God has been all along. I started on this journey thinking I was the one doing it. And I'm coming to see that God is the Great Mover. And the Father to all these fatherless little ones. Instead of the being the one that saves a child through adoption, I'm beginning to see how adopting a child may in the end save me instead.

“if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in the darkness and your gloom will become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places” Isaiah 58:9-11