Settling In

We're approaching four months since returning to the U.S., and in many ways, it seems like we've been here much longer than that and much shorter than that, all at the same time.

Our days have been full since our return, both as a family of seven and as first-time homeowners.

We put an offer in on a house while we were in Africa, and it was accepted. We'd spent weeks searching for  a home in Mississippi, where James was transferred to, and finally found the one we were looking for. While we'd never seen it in person ourselves, our realtor sent us more photos from her visit, and a friend came to look at it with the inspector. That, coupled with the virtual tour on the listing, gave us the confidence to move forward.

And...we love it. It's better than we'd imagined and has been such a great place of rest, and life, and togetherness for our family. We closed on it and moved in just two days after landing in the U.S. What timing! We're learning a lot as we learn this new area and this new home, and we're steadily making it our own.

Here's a peek at what it looked like last month. The bushes had been trimmed and the cracked doorbell had been replaced, but otherwise the front looked the same as it did when we moved in. Since this photo was taken, we've taken care of a few more things, the most noticeable of which was replacing the broken vertical blinds in the big window. I'm glad and thankful every time I see that big empty spot isn't there anymore and see the wide, horizontal wood blinds that are in their place.

This house has a wonderful backyard, which we'd been enjoying daily - until the boys' bikes got fixed, and the big boys taught themselves how to ride without training wheels (in about two days!). Now they spend most of their outdoor time racing around the cul-de-sac.

Life is feeling normal now, as we settle into new routines and learn what works best for each of us. There are, of course, plenty of hard at times, but so much more beauty and kindness and grace and growing.

What a story we're living... Thanks be to the Author of it all!

In the photograph below, James and the kids are checking out a box turtle that frequents our backyard after a heavy rain (and subsequent yard flooding, which you'll see in the following photo).

It's Official...

We're going home!

We were unexpectedly scheduled for an afternoon interview appointment today, and then, even more unexpectedly, our requests for visas were approved!

Things came together today in a way that only God could have orchestrated, and I am just in awe of how He works. What a day!

So, we pick up the visas on Friday, and should be back in the U.S. this weekend! The adventure continues!

What's Left

There's not much left to do now before our return to the U.S. (That feels so strange to write. Can it be true?) We have passports and paperwork and all the loose ends seem to be getting tied up quickly.

Tomorrow morning we have a filing appointment with the Embassy, when I will bring in all of our documents and forms to have them checked by the Adoptions Unit. If it's all in order, they'll schedule us for an interview appointment. That could be tomorrow afternoon (oh, we hope!) or Monday afternoon. (They only schedule interview appointments on Monday and Wednesday afternoons here.)

If that next appointment goes well, they will approve our request for visas for the boys, and we'll be able to pick them up two business days later. Once those are in hand, we can board a plane.

Didn't we just get here? Part of me feels like we should have so much time left, and part of me feels like we've been here a long time - but in a good way. We've gotten into a routine, we've made friends, and this place is feeling very familiar and comfortable. It won't be easy to leave.

This country, these people, they will forever have a part of our hearts.

Below, a few photos of our days recently. Photos take a while to upload, so I might try to add a couple more later. For now:

Introductions

We're back in Kampala after spending a wonderful Easter weekend in Fort Portal, awaiting word of the boys' passports being done.

In the meantime, we wanted to introduce you to the newest members of our family:

This is Joshua. He is seven years old and the best big brother; he loves to play football (soccer) and to help the people around him in any way he can.

This is Steven. He is five years old and has such a big heart. He loves music and singing and dancing, and is always quick to smile.

Henry is the littlest boy in our family - but only by two months. He will be four in June. He is sweet, strong, and silly, and he loves to play around.

We can't put into words how blessed we are to parent these three. We're so thankful that this was God's plan for us. What a gift these boys are!

It's Official!

Today, we received our guardianship order and written ruling - we are officially legal guardians of these three sweet boys, and a family of seven!

This is us, this evening after dinner, out on our apartment balcony. We'll introduce you to those three new little faces soon!

Zoo

We enjoy visiting the zoo wherever we go, and this trip was no exception.

We went yesterday, about an hour from where we're staying, and had such a wonderful time. There was a baby elephant walking (and running!) around, chimpanzees clapping for more sugar cane, a baby giraffe to feed, and a camel to ride. What fun! 

There are only a few photos without faces that we can share with you now, but here they are:

We hope to be able to share their sweet faces with you in the next day or two - we heard yesterday morning that our court ruling was positive! We should officially have legal guardianship very soon! (Thank You, God!)

Out of Our Depths

Court went really well on Wednesday, we think - we were seen on time, and were probably done an hour and a half later. Everyone that was supposed to be there was there, and just a few things are needed before we receive our verbal ruling next Friday. We're praying that those things are done and that Friday's ruling is just as timely as court was.

It's been a week now that we've been a family of seven, and we're slowly entering into the hard, for everyone. But, adoption is born out of loss, and this is to be very much expected. Would you pray with us for love and peace and grace, for each of us, for building of trust and for breaking down of walls? Nothing is impossible with God, and we're believing in the great work He'll do - and is doing - in this family.

In the midst of the hard, I'm reminded of the sermon notes I took a few weeks ago - and thankful that He has prepared me for such a time as this: Discipleship "primarily involves the loving breaking of the disciple by God in a lifelong transformational journey. From awe of self to awe of God. From fear of man to fear of God. He humbles us in our areas of strength." Humbled in an area of strength. That is exactly how I feel right now.

May I remember to be thankful for this humbling, thankful that it brings me back to the One who is able. May I practice thankfulness for my shortcomings and my failures, grateful and sure that His grace is sufficient for me, that His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

"Being weak makes you a cup for God's power. Being stretched thin makes you a canvas for God's glory. Being out of your depths makes you touch the depths of the Love of God." - Ann Voskamp