play date

One of the great blessings we had in Uganda was to meet other families who were adopting as well. Some of them we met while out and about (because muzungus with black babies stand out in the market for some reason :P) and others we met while we played with our babies at Suma's home. Getting to know other families and help each other through the in-country process was SO great, and we have loved keeping in touch with the different families as we have all come home.

Yesterday,we got to meet up with one of the families as they came through Houston! We met them at Chick-fil-a for lunch and play time. Their youngest son was in the same home as Suma, and they have been precious little friends. It was so fun to see them play together - Suma has really missed her friend and was thrilled to pieces to play with him again! They chased each other and held each other's hands and lit the room with their happy smiles.

Thank you, Krista, Camp and Enock for coming to play with us!

chicken

Ibra: Mommy, where does this chicken come from?
Me: The store.
Ibra: *Thoughtful look* You get it at the store and bring it to the home?
Me: Yes, sir. You were there when we got it last week.
Ibra: The chicken is big like this? (makes motion with his hands) You take chicken under your arm, and squish it like this?

This is how you squish a chicken under your arm to carry it home...or kill it, I don't know

Me: No...the chicken is in the freezer.
Ibra: Let me see.

So I take out the bag and show him. He was rather incredulous at first, but after a few minutes of comparing how we get chicken in Uganda with how we get it in America, he came to terms with it.

And that, my friends, is a cultural diversity moment.

sleep sacks and superheroes

Ain't no mountain high enough...to keep these climbers at bay

So THAT's why we didn't hear much from her during naptime...she was busy making pillow case sleeping bags for her and baby!

Flying

Superheroes

sing-along songs

For Christmas, Andrew's sister gave us a series of childrens' songs on DVD. The kids have loved it! There are songs from "The Wheels on the Bus" to "Jesus Loves Me", and they have especially enjoyed the Bible songs.

They have enjoyed them so much, in fact, that they have started to act them out! This week's #1 top song is:

Peter and John went to pray

They met a lame man on the way

He asked for alms and held out his palms,

and this is what Peter did say:

Silver and gold have I none,

but such as I have give I thee.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

I command you to rise up and walk.

He went walking and leaping and praising God,

Walking and leaping and praising God,

In the name of Jesus Christ,

I command you to rise up and walk!

Peter & John going to pray

Meeting a lame man on the way

Walking and leaping and praising God

I love that this song (and story in Acts 3) so clearly demonstrates three things:

1) You always have something to share

2) Jesus' name is powerful

3) Jesus heals

career change

It's been coming for awhile.... even before we were married, Andrew and I agreed that at some point in our lives, I would have a big-deal career change. Today, that change is official. The email is in, and my exit interview is being scheduled.

That's right. I have officially resigned my role as a corporate training & talent development professional to become a full-time mommy.

And, if you want the truth, I'm 90% excited and 10% bummed.

I'm thrilled to spend time with the two most precious children on the planet, and I'm especially exited to be the one who teaches them important things like:
- what it means to be a family
- how to be a lady and a gentleman
- how to spell their names
- how to love and share and be generous
- to be disciplined and not be ruled by emotion
- to respect and obey authority
- to think and be creative
- to look out for random pairs of socks that might have somehow gotten in the toilet...before pooping on them (yeah. sick.)

You know. Life lessons.

The importance of this role became increasingly clear while we were in Uganda, visiting Suma's babies home. She had wonderful aunties, and all of the children were well taken care of. They had someone to feed them, bathe them, play with them, hug them... but they didn't have mommies. And, whether they were 2 days or 3 years old, they could feel it. They could feel that there is a difference between a caregiver and a mommy. I could see it in their eyes when a mommy walked into the room, I could see it as they ran to one of us with their arms outstretched begging for a hug, I could see it in the tears that they shed when they knew that we were there to love and take home a different child. Babies need mommies.

So I'm excited for my role and the challenges and opportunities to come. Even if it means fishing out a pair of socks in the toilet with nothing but a grocery bag on my hand. Because I am their mommy, I get to enjoy things like:
- snuggling them close when they wake up in the mornings and from their naps in the afternoon
- watching the delight on their faces when they learn how to do things all by themselves, like swinging or flushing the toilet or putting on their socks
- hearing them tell me stories about their Uganda moms and life before the children's home
- talking with strangers at the park, grocery store, bank when they ask about adoption

The 10% of my heart that is bummed is over things that don't matter though, mostly, they are things that DO matter but that will come again or present themselves in other forms - which is encouraging to me. I don't know how or when or where they will be found, but here's what I do know:

Matthew 5:14-15
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

The Lord made His children Lights to shine for Him, and He has put us on our stands to give light to others - whether that's while wearing high heels in the corporate world or while wearing flip flops in the sand box. THAT is the thing that matters; thank you, Jesus!

outpatients

In the month-and-a-half that we've been home (only that long, really?), we've introduced the kids to many of the wonders of life in America. The one that has remained unappreciated in their minds - maybe because of all the shots they had to get - but that continues to amaze me, is healthcare.

If you put all of your fights with your insurance provider out of your mind...
If you forget about the cost and the nagging feeling that somewhere, somehow you're being overcharged...
If you refuse to dwell on the most recent medical malpractice lawsuit that you've read in the news...

Get all of that out of your head because it just muddies the waters. If you take a minute to think about how fortunate we are, especially when you realize that all of these things are beyond most of the world's imagination, it will make your head explode. We have some of the most highly trained medical teams on the planet within driving distance (DRIVING distance, people!), and if you go to their office for your ache or pain, they will treat you. And 99.9% of the time, you will get better. Their instruments are clean, their treatment rooms are clean, their hands are clean. And they probably even have a few toys and magazines in the waiting room...just in case you have to wait for more than 15 minutes to be called in.

Can you wrap your head around that? I never thought about it before, but now I can hardly believe it. It's incredible.




....so that's not really what I am here to write about, but it completely overwhelmed me as I took the kids to their appointments these past few weeks. This simple setting, and just how different medical care would look for them in another part of the world (if they were able to get any), so blew me away that I had to mention it.

So our city has an international adoption clinic where you can bring your children for check-ups once they come home. The doctor tests them on everything from where they are in their learning/development to what immunizations they need to whether they have certain blood diseases/parasites (ew). It is so cool.

During our visit, here are a few things that we learned:

Ibra
- He is 25% in height and weight (which, if you have seen him next to the other little boys in Sunday school, is hardly a surprise)


Sumaya
- She is 25% in weight and 80% in height (tall and skinny)
- Her gross motor skills are that of a 4.5 year old (I had no idea that hopping on one foot is such a big deal), and her fine motor skills are that of a 3.5 year old (drawing circles is also a big deal)

Both of them have advanced language skills, and the doctor was impressed with how well they tested. It's really a testament to the love and care that they received in their children's homes because often, when children have spent a significant amount of time living in an institution, they initially test lower than their peers.

The other thing that we learned is that since we have no immunization records, our sweet babies got to start out with a clean slate...meaning that in addition to the blood work that they would have later in the visit, they needed 12 immunizations (mercifully given to them through 5 injections). As heart-wrenching as it was to physically hold one down so that a nurse can give him shots in his arm and to see our other baby limp for the rest of the day because her legs hurt from the shots, it was much remedied by a visit to Chick-fil-A and getting to watch "Cars" for the rest of the afternoon.

Since then, we have also taken Ibra to get his eyes checked by twice. The general consensus is that it's nothing more than, for lack of a better term, an eye freckle. Yay!

All we need to do now is get in a trip to the dentist, and we'll be set!