We had such a wonderful weekend! Here were some of the highlights:
-Crafted a decorating project- see picture
-Watched "National Treasure" as our evening
entertainment
-Cooled off from the much anticipated rain
-Talked to family on Skype
-Enjoyed long periods of electricity
-Watched Zane as he continues to smile and coo more and more
-Freshened up with manicures and pedicures
-Rested in knowing we couldn't receive any adoption related
news
-Cleaned Fred's room as a surprise (this was all my mom- she
has an incredible servant's heart)
April 3rd
We STILL do not have our court date. Our attorney has been telling us we'll know
"tomorrow" for two weeks now.
Yesterday we learned we won't be able to land a court date this week
because the judge is out of the office again.
Now our attorney is saying we MAY be able to land a court date next week
IF the judge shows up for work next Tuesday.
It's been too many days of disappointments and we're
emotionally spent to say the least. We
desperately want to get home and not having any end in sight is terrifying and
disheartening. What's even more scary is
that once we do go to court we then have to wait a week or two to hear a
ruling. Then, IF guardianship is granted we still have many steps to take in
order to get Zane a US Passport and Visa.
April 7th
I have absolutely loved the last four days. Just when I was at my wits end with being
here, God was faithful to give me this unexplainable peace and joy even though
my circumstances haven’t changed. This
attitude shift has been an answer to prayer.
On Wednesday my mom, Zane and I had a quiet evening on the
back patio with Pringles and beer (our new happy hour favorite) while listening
to some of my favorite music and watching the beautiful sunset. We then had an extra delicious dinner outside
in the gorgeous weather with Dr. Patrick.
Before going to bed, I told my mom that it was one of my favorite nights
here. Then to top it off, Zane surprised
us by sleeping four hours straight followed by another three hours.
On Thursday, Zane was
a doll- he slept most of the day. When
he wasn’t sleeping he was cooing and smiling.
I was able to capture some of it on video which we emailed to Isaac. Later that evening, I found out our attorney
took off for the four day weekend a day early even though he did nothing all
week to catch us up on the paperwork we need for the US Embassy. Somehow, despite the disappointment, I let it
go (and let God) and we continued to have a great evening over another
delicious meal, an episode of Downtown Abbey (we’re re-watching the first
season), and a Kit Kat bar (our new MO).
(By the way, Pringles and Kit Kat bars are about the only
two American snacks we can find, so while I would have never bought them prior
to coming to Uganda- these are new favorites!
Same thing goes for beer and Coca Cola.
I don’t plan to continue these daily splurges when I return to the
States. I bet I’ll have gotten my “fix”
by the time I return. )
Friday was one of my favorite days with Zane and my
mom. Dr. Patrick invited us to Sisiyi
Falls for the day where his family was staying for Easter weekend. I thought we were going to a public campsite
with hundreds of locals staying in mud huts and tents with no restrooms or
running water, but I was so wrong! Much
to our surprise, the land around the falls is actually owned by Dr. Patrick and
it is gorgeous! An added bonus was they
had plumbing, two chefs, and wonderful company.
The property is open to the public for day tours and overnight stays;
however, it usually stays pretty quiet.
The morning started off a little scary when Dr. Patrick
announced we were going to take the old brown van which usually has to be
pushed to start. Then, about 40 minutes
into our 1-1/2 hour journey the van ran out of gas in the middle of the
marketplace in a small village where there is of course no gas station. We quickly become the center of attention for
obvious reasons- we are two white women with an African baby. Plus, Dr. Patrick is well known in the area
(he doesn’t claim this- but it’s true).
While we waited for Fred to fetch gas on a boda-boda (motorcycle taxi)
people started gathering around the van.
We got a good laugh when an elderly gentleman told Dr. Patrick to give
him 500,000 shillings (approximately $225 US), and in return he would have God
bless him with a better van.
Despite the 20 minute hang up with the gas and the bumpy
ride we arrived at Sisiyi Falls safe and sound. Like I mentioned, the place was beautiful-
Even the sounds, smells, and weather were beautiful! My mom and I loved getting to know Dr.
Patrick’s wife, Helen. She lives in
Kampala with their six year old twin girls, so this was our first time to
meet. My mom and Helen had a great
connection to BSF as Helen is currently in a BSF pilot program in Kampala.
Another special moment was getting to know two missionary
families who had just arrived as guests for the Easter weekend. They are from Michigan, but have started a
ministry in Jinja. We had so many crazy
connections and things in common- it was such a divine appointment. Both families have two Ugandan adopted
children, and both families have older biological children that are in the
beginning stages of adopting Ugandan children.
One family has all sorts of connections to BSF with my parents. The wife, while studying Isaiah in BSF, had
googled for commentary on the book and my dad’s lecture notes that were typed
and posted from a BSF attendee came up.
She has been printing out and following my dad’s lectures to assist her
with her studies. We LOVED getting to
know these neat families. They even came
to visit us in Kanginima today, and we’ll see them again tomorrow at the falls
since we have been invited to come back tomorrow for Easter.
April 12th
This morning our attorney advised that we will not hear
about a possible court date until next week. We are again discouraged and
scared about how long this might continue to drag out.
April 17th
I finally have wonderful news!!! We have a court date for Wednesday, April
25th! (Same day Zane turns 3 months
old.)
Isaac is flying out of Dallas on Saturday and arriving in
Kanginima with us on Monday the 23rd.
Then, he will be returning to Dallas on May 7th. My mom will be flying back to Bangkok on
Monday the 23rd (same day Isaac arrives).
We are so overjoyed to have such answered prayers today!
April 21st
Zane is not doing well.
He has had a 102 temperature since yesterday evening. In addition, he's not sleeping or eating
well. Thankfully he did test negative
this morning for Malaria. Being that he
is just shy of 3 months old this can already be scary. Then, you add all the things he's been
exposed to it in Africa and the lack of great medical care... and it can be
extra scary.
April 24th
Isaac here, from Uganda.
I arrived at Mbale yesterday. Tara surprised me and we met up in Jinja
with her mom, and some other friends. She brought the little guy and he was
feeling much much better. He hasn't had
a temperature for the past three days and has been eating and sleeping well
once again. He has been on an antibiotic/antiparasitic and continues to take
that every 8 hours.
Tara and Claudia had moved into the hotel again because the
electricity at the guesthouse went out and stayed off for several days.
Unfortunately the Internet connection here at the hotel isn't very reliable/usable. We will be here through our court date
(Wednesday morning at 9am). Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Zane
is cuter than ever and I can't wait to introduce you all to him.
April 25th
Well, today was court day (and Zane turned 3 months
old)! Although there was some initial
drama with the extended family we think things went fine in court. The judge didn't have any questions for us,
the grandparents, or the probation officer- which we think is a good sign. We were called back to court to hear our ruling
next Thursday the 3th. In the meantime we're going to work on some paperwork
necessary for the remaining steps in the process.
We've spent the last three nights at the hotel in Mbale, but
we're now back at the guest house in Kanginima.
Unforutnately, Kanginima still doesn't have electricity (we haven't
since Saturday) so we only have power for about 1 hour a day while they run the
generator while they pump the well water for the hospital. Our plan is to move out of Kanginima on
Tuesday the 1st and stay again at the hotel in Mbale Tuesday through
Friday. On Friday the 4th we're planning
on moving to Kampala before Isaac has to leave on the 6th (arriving in Dallas
on the 7th). Once Isaac leaves the plan
is to have my little sister, Caitlin, come stay with us in Kampala for however
long is needed so she can also fly back with Zane and I to the States.
The steps in Kampala are estimated to take 2-3 weeks
MINIMUM. If the Embassy decides they
want to investigate our case further the process could take months. Please pray that we would have favor with the
US Embassy so that we can go home as soon as possible. We've heard more stories than not of people
getting hung up in this part of the process (Embassy) for a long time with a
lot of headache.
April 27th
Hello, again, from Kanginima!
We're soaking up every minute as a family of three. Yesterday we took a walk outside the compound
for the first time in our new Baby Bjorn.
The weather was nice and we were able to distract the neighborhood kids
with a toy so they wouldn't follow us.
We still do not have electricity, but supposedly they are fixing the
issue today… or on Monday- today would be wonderful!
Zane is back to feeling great. We're hoping when we finish the medication
tomorrow it will decrease the amount of dirty diapers- the number we're going
through right now would astound you. He
is smiling, cooing and laughing more and more every day- we, of course, are
totally in love with this little boy!
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