Remembering Our {Adoption} Adventure - part 4

For the next few weeks, I will be blogging about our adoption journey to Uganda & beyond!  The Lord took us on a sweet adventure to become a family of 3.  We were in Uganda adopting Walker for about 3 weeks.  There were ups & downs.  Highs & lows.  Joys & triumphs.

My husband & I chronicled our adventures on a private Facebook group we created to keep friends & family up to date on all the latest happenings.

This is a re-cap & remembering of our journey ONE YEAR ago!!!!

May 22, 2012

Scott & I are laying here in the dark under our mosquito netting (a MUST if you don't want to get malaria), & WJ is sleeping beside us in a baby bed under his own mosquito netting. We moved from our hotel in WJ’s village area to the area for court. BAD NEWS #1: No luggage. Apparently 3 bags are coming in tonight, but we don’t know if they are our bags or the bags of the family traveling with us OR a mixture of both (between the 2 families, we are waiting on 8 bags.) BAD NEWS #2: Court has been moved from tomorrow (Wed.) to Monday. This is not near as bad as our friends in UG recently whose court date was moved out by several weeks. Our judge is still in country & has just gone to Kampala for some kind of last minute meeting. PLEASE PRAY for both the bags & the court date. That our bags (all of them) would arrive this evening, & be fully in tact – nothing stolen or missing; and please pray that our rescheduled court date will stand FIRM & that we will have our written ruling the very same day so that we can head back to Kampala to get WJ’s passport & visa (praying for a QUICK, QUICK process here.) BAD NEWS #3: Pasty, white girls & the equator & missing luggage are NOT a good combo. I have in my packed bags both sunscreen & a big wide-brim straw hat to help protect me from the intensity of the sun, but since our bags aren't here yet, I've gotten burnt to an absolute crisp. Finally, today I was able to get some sunscreen, & hopefully that will help. All in all though, we are not burdened or down or upset about our bad news……….. we are still in good spirits & loving the time with our son.

Today was another great day with WJ. I had heard that often children who are institutionalized are VERY independent & won’t allow their new mommies & daddies to do things for them (like put on shoes, clothes, bathe them, feed them or prepare their food, comfort them when they have boo-boos, wipe their hinies, etc.), but WJ is letting me/us do ALL of this & more for him. He seems to be responding so very, very well to personal, loving, gentle, one-on-one care, & we are loving it! He slept in the bed with us last night (b/c there wasn’t another option), & he is a tosser & a turner! He kicked Scott several times, & woke me up several times also. However, this morning when he woke up, he kind of jumped up & looked around & when he saw that we were right there he gave us the BIGGEST, WIDEST, SWEETEST smile. It was precious! Today was a very full day! We went back into the jungles of Africa to visit WJ’s village. It was a very surreal experience. We got very dirty & dusty. I won’t type too much out about this b/c this is WJ’s story, & we’ll let him tell it when he’s ready. On our drive to Ft. Portal, we drove through a national forest & stopped to see all the baboons. It was so cool! There were 2 mother baboons with babies; baboons are very mean, but thankfully, we didn’t experience any of that. 

We are trying to teach WJ some English words, & he seems to be doing well (but he may only be repeating what we’re saying – time will tell.) He has done well today with “please” and “thank you.” We are also trying to learn some Tooro & this is what we think we know from WJ & our driver, Ken: picki-picki is motorcycle; amaizie is water; soos is tinkle; pamma is poop; gamba is say. It has been so helpful to learn the word “gamba.” We’ll say something like, “Gamba, thank you” or “Gamba, please Mommy.” And then he’ll actually say/”gamba” the English words. This morning we had our first tickle fight, & he LOVED it. Giggle, giggle, giggle. After he gets to laughing, he has a DEEP belly laugh that is so cute. He also (just like his cousin, Micah) likes to fake-laugh. It’s pretty funny.

It is late, & we are tired. Signing off!

***Oh!!!!  I had totally forgotten about him waking up that first morning with us & grinning ear to ear.  That was such a sweet, sweet moment!  In regards to visiting his village, I also remember being totally humbled on that excursion.  They had never had white people come into their village before, & they were the perfect hosts.  Out of their EXTREME poverty, they served us fresh pineapple in the "sitting area/living room/communal area" of their thatched roof, dirt floor home.  It was overwhelmingly humbling!  I hope I never forget that moment!***

Remembering our {Adoption} Adventure - part 3

For the next few weeks, I will be blogging about our adoption journey to Uganda & beyond!  The Lord took us on a sweet adventure to become a family of 3.  We were in Uganda adopting Walker for about 3 weeks.  There were ups & downs.  Highs & lows.  Joys & triumphs.

My husband & I chronicled our adventures on a private Facebook group we created to keep friends & family up to date on all the latest happenings.

This is a re-cap & remembering of our journey ONE YEAR ago!!!!

May 21, 2012

We have WJ with us tonight, & we’ve had him with us almost ALL day. It has been a GREAT day. When we went to pick him up from school, he came TEARING out of the crowd & ran into both of our arms with a force that nearly knocked us both flat. It was absolutely precious!

We are about to have our first movie night, & I think we’ll settle on Cars – although maybe we’ll do Nemo or Toy Story???? Whatever it is, I’m sure he’ll LOVE it!

Another day of FIRSTS. I will try to recap most of them b/c I don't think I'll have any journaling time tonight. First “I love you” from WJ. First lip kisses for me & daddy. First talking to Jajja (my Mom.) First book readings. First time running smack into a sliding glass door (poor baby.) Maybe first time seeing a mirror; he was VERY intrigued. First pair of sunglasses (we brought Cars sunglasses.) First pair of new shoes. Maybe his first carbonated beverage – baby boy downed his Orange Fanta. Clearly his first use of a straw. ;) First time ordering at a restaurant; he had chapatti & rice (a VERY Ugandan dish - chapatti is similar in appearance to a flour tortilla, but tastes way better.) First night at a hotel. First time sleeping in bed with Mommy & Daddy. First bath washing from a crazy white lady who didn’t quite know how to do it, but he showed me (the showers here are different & you use a bucket - there is no shower head.)

Mommy & Daddy had a lot of firsts too! It has been a great day, & I am very surprised with how happy he seems with us. I pray that once the “newness” wears off little bit will still be happy.

Our luggage still isn’t here! Word is that it will be here tomorrow night, but who knows if that is true or not. If it does arrive, then we won’t get it until we head back to Kampala on Thurs. or Fri.

It’s getting late for him, so I’m going to sign off & we’re gonna start the movie on our laptop.

Also, forgot to say that little bit is LITTLE. Size 11 shoe is too big, & I think he's wearing a 3T, but I'll know for sure when our luggage gets here. Little makes me happy b/c I know he'll grow SO fast!

***Yes, he was little!  He was in a 3T.  His feet are still small, but he has grown like a weed.  He has a small waist, which makes pants with adjustable pulls a MUST!  I also vividly remember that first shower.  It was an experience!  He squatted down instead of standing up like we would; I remember not quite knowing what to do.  And the water was ccccc-old!***

2nd post on May 21, 2012 - written by my husband

WJ now has Cars sunglasses, and he crashed watching Cars.....MoMo and Micah (cousins) will be proud. He's been playing Angry Birds and using the Coloring book on my phone, though I really think he just likes hitting the buttons and swiping the icons left and right more than the games. He had his first Fanta, Coke and Novida (carbonated Pineapple flavored drink). We're learning as much Rutooro as we can since he doesn't seem to speak a lot of English. He will often look at one of us and smile, then turn to look at the other and smile, and we LOVE it! He's asleep now and has drool all over his shirt and just snorted loudly :) Tomorrow we go to see his village and his extended family. Please pray everything goes well and that he doesn't have any bad memories that resurface, and if they do that we are able to calm and soothe him. One last story before I sign off. When he was brought to the home he was severely underweight and could not walk. After being there for a while and plumping up, he gave himself the nickname of "Sweet Potato." :)

Remembering Our {Adoption} Adventure - part 2

For the next few weeks, I will be blogging about our adoption journey to Uganda & beyond!  The Lord took us on a sweet adventure to become a family of 3.  We were in Uganda adopting Walker for about 3 weeks.  There were ups & downs.  Highs & lows.  Joys & triumphs.

My husband & I chronicled our adventures on a private Facebook group we created to keep friends & family up to date on all the latest happenings.

This is a re-cap & remembering of our journey ONE YEAR ago!!!!

May 19, 2012 {another entry}

Our schedule was bumped up a day, & we were able to travel to meet Walker today! It was a 5-ish hour drive; we took in LOTS of sights & smells, & I’m still processing most of it. We arrived at the baby home about 6:30ish. There were some children in the yard, & WJ was about the 3rd or 4th kiddo we saw. Our driver, Ken, pointed him out to us, & as calmly as we could we rushed over to him. ;) Ken told him who we were, & he was quiet & a bit reserved (I’m sure quite overwhelmed), but he let us pick him up & kiss & hug him. It was a low-key introduction w/ only minimal tears from the momma. I think that was good b/c it was less overwhelming to him & us; it took any kind of pressure off of us & him. Ken told us that a few weeks back WJ asked him when he was going to get to leave with a family. :( Ken told him that we were coming soon. It was neat to hear that our little one has at least a minimal understanding of adoption, or at the very least understands that others have left & he wants to go too. Ken had to translate a lot between us & Walker. I’m not sure how much English WJ understands & can speak. Only thing the poor baby said was “yes”; anytime he thought we were asking a question his answer was a sweet, little, tiny, African accented “yes.” He took my hand & showed me to his room; a room full of bunk beds (I didn’t count how many.) WJ’s bed is the bottom of a 3-high bunk bed. Not many more nights in that room; very soon he’ll be with us & very likely plopped in bed beside us (not sure we have a choice b/c I’m not putting my baby on the floor – our hotel only has one bed.)

We go back tomorrow morning for a 4 hour long church service, & get to spend the rest of the day at the home with WJ & his friends. On Monday night, I think that he’ll actually get to leave the home & be with us forever! I think I’m a little nervous that my mothering might not kick in………. please pray that I can rest & enjoy the journey. I do trust that the Lord will work in my heart & WJ’s whatever bonding needs to happen, & it may take time, & that’s ok as long as it’s the Lord’s working!

Please also pray that our luggage arrives tonight on the Brussels or Egypt Air flights. Our agency coordinator is supposed to pick them up at the airport in the morning, & then head out here to be with us. We have NO clothes for WJ (except his suit for court on Wed.), NO toiletries (except the travel size toothpaste/lotion/etc.that we packed in our carryons), & only TWO outfits for ourselves. We are hoping to avoid spending money by buying more clothes. :(

I think that is enough for now………

5/19/2012 - Our very FIRST family photo.  (look at that grip he has on his Daddy!  And I don't think I've ever seen my husband smile SO big!  ♥

***I still remember fondly our first meeting with our sweet, little boy!  It was SO lacking in fanfare & hoopla; I had half-way been expecting a moment like Mufasa & Simba in The Lion King.  Oh the joys of a vivid imagination. However, it was perfect!  Words can hardly express the joys of meeting your child half-way across the world for the very first time.  Moving!  Elated!  Joyous!  THANKFUL!***

May 20, 2012 {entry #1}

Things to pray for specifically this week, please.
Monday, May 21 - WJ comes with us......... forever!
Tuesday, May 22 - Luggage is supposed to arrive then! (sooner would be betta')
Wednesday, May 23 - Court date. Judge makes his written ruling as to whether or not he will grant to us legal guardianship of WJ. Hoping for written ruling the same day.
Thursday, May 24 - Hopefully, traveling back to Kampala to stay with my SIL's mother, & wait out the visa process.

***Not having our luggage was a HUGE stressor, but we survived day by day.  At least I never had to pick out what clothes to wear!***

May 20, 2012 {entry #2}

Today was a GREAT day with WJ! We were able to go to church with him, & we were even allowed to go to his Sunday school class. At church, he sat in our laps the whole time, & for about the first half of the service was pretty reserved & quiet, but then he opened up with LOTS of smiles & talking to us (in Tooro.) When we went to his Sunday school class with him, he started to become VERY possessive of us. It was like he was laying claim to us for the other kids. It was a really sweet, encouraging thing to see him do. To us it meant that he has some level of understanding of the 3 of us becoming a forever family. We also were VERY careful how we loved on other children. We worked hard to not pick up other children or hold hands with them. We wanted to do our best to convey to WJ that we were there for HIM, & that he is special to us. Who knows if that was the right or wrong thing to do, but it seemed to work for him, & that made us happy. Scott bought him a soccer ball today, & baby boy laid a very firm claim to that yellow ball. He wouldn't let other kiddos hold it for any length of time. He wanted for us to take the ball with us tonight b/c he was afraid that the older kids might take it & play with it & he wouldn't see it again. (I am so thankful for our driver, Ken, who is a GREAT translator & help for us with WJ.) WJ also called us Mommy & Daddy for the first time today; right now those are just names to him, but one day soon he’ll understand who we really are to him! Other snippets that I am too lazy to go back & put in the above: during church WJ wore Scott’s watch & loved to play with the “light” feature on it; WJ learned to play Angry Birds on Scott’s phone; WJ cried for the first time today & Scott got to cuddle with him (I think an older kid knocked his precious yellow ball out of his hands & it went rolling down the hill --- it was a crisis. broke my heart.) WJ led a song in his little Sunday school class (Mommy got to too); WJ likes riding on Scott’s shoulders; I insisted on Island Margarita hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works after he went potty (twice), & he didn’t really care for the smell, but the 2nd time he made sure to put his hands on other kids faces so they could smell it; he does NOT like the spearmint green tic-tacs.

***Ah, yes!  I still remember how VERY possessive our boy was of us.  It made my Mommy's heart soar with joy & pride & hope!***

Remembering Our {Adoption} Adventure - part 1

For the next few weeks, I will be blogging about our adoption journey to Uganda & beyond!  The Lord took us on a sweet adventure to become a family of 3.  We were in Uganda adopting Walker for about 3 weeks.  There were ups & downs.  Highs & lows.  Joys & triumphs.

My husband & I chronicled our adventures on a private Facebook group we created to keep friends & family up to date on all the latest happenings.

This is a re-cap & remembering of our journey ONE YEAR ago!!!!

MAY 18, 2012

Good afternoon from The Pearl of Africa. WE ARE HERE! Our luggage is NOT! :( We had an eventful trip. We sat on the tarmac in NJ for about 4 hours (isn't that illegal???) Anyway, b/c our layover in Brussels was 4 hours, we missed that flight to UG. We were blessed to be able to be book on Egypt Air (an experience) to Cairo & then to Entebbe. Good news was that what would've been an 11 hour flight was broken down in 2 shorter flights! The flight from Brussels to Cairo was PACKED, & Scott & I weren't able to sit together. Weird smells, no personal TVs, middle seat, thick accents, & smaller than expected plane. But we landed in the politically unstable Egypt with no reportable events. ;) The trip from Cairo to Entebbe was awesome! Still a smaller plane w/ no personal TVs, BUT the plan was by no means full & we were able to all spread out & take a row to ourselves. We got some pretty decent rest on that flight. We arrived in UG to discover that our luggage did not. We are praying that our 3 bags make it to us TOMORROW OR BRIGHT & EARLY Sun. morning. We don't want to leave for WJ's village w/o our bags!!! Please join us in lots of praying for this...... also please pray that our luggage is perfectly in tact (nothing damaged, ransacked, or stolen which can easily happen.) Ok, I think that is enough for now. We are safely at the guesthouse & have just woken up from a nap. The driving here is CAH-RA-ZEE!!! The weather today is gorgeous! We are sitting on the balcony of our room, & the wind is blowing & I'd guess the temp is about 75ish............. a little unusual, but thrilled with this nice weather!

***Ah, yes!  That first flight we had with Egypt Air still gives me nightmares.  When the flight attendants went to the back of the plane, where I was scrunched in with two Egyptian women & their babies, and uncovered the old VHS player they used for the "security video", I just knew we were going down.  No good flights start with old, refurbished VHS players.  And then, at the end of the flight, the flight attendants walked up & down the aisles, an aerosol can in each hand, just spraying away.  It was then that I thought, this is it!  They're knocking us all out, so that they can rob us & let us rot away in some prison somewhere.  I held on to my monogrammed Vera Bradley bag for dear life.  Thankfully, Vera & I made it out of there alive, my overactive imaginative fully in tow!***

MAY 19, 2012

Happy Wedding Day to my sister & her red-headed groom!  We are SO excited for the two of you, & we are so sorry that we can't be there. Please take LOTS of pictures & send me snippets of your big day. We love you!

***It was SO HARD to miss my sister's wedding!  Early in 2012, she had to pick a wedding date, & we still didn't know when our travel dates would be.  We were told late March, then early April, then mid-April, then late April.  We finally traveled in mid-May, thus missing my sissy's wedding by a mere 3 days!  It was SO hard, but she was so kind & gracious & very non-Bridezilla about it!  They are celebrating their one year anni today, & my heart still breaks a little that we weren't there!***

An Open Letter to my Baby Sister {on her wedding day}

My youngest sister got married this past weekend.

It was a gorgeous wedding.

She was stunning!

Her husband married WAY out of his league!  ;)

Well........ all of us girls did, but that's beside the point.

No....... maybe that IS my point....... wait, no, it's not.

My point is that the wedding was beautiful, my sister was gorgeous, & I am so happy for her!

There are 11 years between me {the oldest} and Pooh {the youngest}.  She was my baby.  I nearly raised her...... and thanks to the intervention of my parents, she turned out GREAT!

Here is the letter I wrote to her.  The one she read on her wedding morn.

Since you were born, you were my baby girl. I was like a little momma & you were my baby. I remember always wanting to pick you up from church nursery & wanting you to sleep in my bed. Sometimes I even sneaked into your room & climbed into your bunk bed to sleep with you at night. We had a bond unlike any I had with the others!

To watch you grow into a young woman who loves God & to whom I can come to in my dark hours is amazing! I see the hand of God in your life & you living out your love for Him. It is encouraging & a pure delight.

I am immensely proud of the Jesus that I see in you. I am proud to call you my sister, my baby, my friend, & co-laborer for Christ Jesus.

Getting married has been one of the hardest challenges in my time with the Lord when compared to my single years. Your focus will naturally change some & your "free" time will be spent on different things. Don't lose Him or push Him aside. Fight for Him & your time with Him........ He's all we have. He's all we want. He's all we need!

I love you, baby Pooh Pooh!

Mother's Day...... Schmother's Day.

Sunday.  May 12.  Mother's Day.

A horrendous, heart wrenching day for many.

But a joyful occasion for most, as we celebrate with our Children & our Moms & Grandmoms & Great Grandmoms.

Although, I think this day is basically a "Hallmark" holiday, it's still a really sweet & precious way to remember our Moms & the sacrifice & love they freely gave to us as we held them hostage & demanded it from them in our infancy & toddler & teenage years.  There is no doubt that Mommas are WonderWoman disguised in yoga pants, Mom jeans, old t-shirts, & ball caps.  They've had their share {and then some} of stinky diapers & projectile vomit & bubble gum in the hair & temper tantrums & crayons on the wall........ but somehow they managed to love & adore us through it all!

My Mom is my best friend & a true example of what a godly mother should be!  I could write a book about her, but to still be a Momma's girl at age 31 probably sums it up best.  :)

Now, I am a Mommy.  This is my first Mother's Day!  And my guys are treating me royally - despite a disgusting, oozing bacteria spreading across my face {don't ask questions, I'm in hiding until it all clears up.}  They've brought me Starbucks & flowers and are making dinner for me tonight............ it's low key & precious & I am rejoicing!

Rejoicing because my years of pain & heartache & trying to become a Mommy are now over.  God has answered my prayers............ abundantly & exceedingly!  I AM A MOMMY!

However, I cannot think about this day without remembering the year that I refused to go to church on Mother's Day.  It was too hard.  Too painful.  A reminder that the thing I wanted most was totally out of my control & far beyond my reach.

So, while you celebrate being a Mom today........... think & pray for those women who are hurting today because the thing they want most is far beyond their reach.  If you know one of these women, hug her, call her, text her, REACH OUT.......... for heaven's sake don't ignore her because you don't know what to say!  You may feel awkward & she may not text back or call back, but keep that lifeline open for her.

A "Mommy Without a Baby" doesn't necessarily need someone who knows what she's feeling........... what she needs MOST is someone with compassion & tears & strength & love!

Most of us never find that............ so, rise to the occasion {tough as it may be} & be that friend for the "Mommy Without a Baby" in your life.  Reach out to her.  Don't make her reach out to you!

Let her know that on this dark, dark road you will be there for her........ to point her to Christ when all her strength is gone!

Mommy, thank you for making me your baby.

"Mommy, thank you for making me your baby."

These 8 words hit me like a ton of bricks as they were spilling out of the soft, little lips of my six year old baby boy.

The words pounded against my heavy heart with the blunt force of an axe hitting the base of a large, unmovable, old oak tree.

You see these past days....... well, they've been a mothering booger bear, a feat, a gladiator-style throw down worthy of lions & tigers & Russell Crowe. Oh my!

I don't think the term "throw down" is all that gladiatorial....... but surely, you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down. 

It's been a battle around here. 

A battle between the two of us. I feel that some evil creature has pitted my baby & me against each other, as we both fight for our own wants & needs.

In the past week, I've washed his sheets 5 times because he soaked through his diaper (which I finally realized was because I bought training dipes instead of nighttime dipes. Darned if I make that idiotic mistake again!)

In the past week, he's also managed to unlearn both short & long vowels. This makes reading quite a hellacious little trek.

In the past week, he's also decided to inform us (via gagging at the table) that he no longer likes the same foods he used to.  So the poor boy is eating a lot of toast with honey. He doesn't complain, but I feel like a terrible mother in not giving him the nourishment he needs.

It's just been so tough! 

I actually found myself wondering why anyone ever has more than one kid, & I was serious! Isn't that just terrible??!! It is! I know it is!

I just wanna eat cake pops & homemade chocolate chip cookies while getting a mani/pedi from a mute Brad Pitt (as seen in Troy.) 

Eeeeehhhhh......... never mind.

Mani/pedi from an sweet, elderly woman. After all, I do wanna feel free to eat my cake pops & choc chip cookies, & I just couldn't do that in front of a Brad Pitt.

Am I awful or what?

It's been such an internal struggle as I wrestle with my baby boys needs & my own fleshly wants & demands.

While I know these feelings are totally normal, it doesn't make them right or godly or any less sinful.

So for my little boy to sweetly say from the backseat of the car, "Mommy, thank you for making me your baby" spoke volumes to my wrestling heart. It spoke life, healing, & joy into my rough heart.

Those 8 little words reminded me of what is actually important.......... and it's not long vowels or soaked sheets or gagging at the dinner table. Those things are just distractions. That little boy's healing & wholeness & showing him how much Jesus loves him....... that's what it's all about!