Stewart's Adoption Blog

Thank you for the Mosquitoes, Mice, and Bats

2012-01-25T14:32:00.001-06:00

I was recently reminded of a story from a book that I read in my eight grade English class. The book is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom and I am sure many of you are familiar with it. Corrie was a Jew who was placed in a concentration camp with her sister. When they arrived at the barraks they were appauled by the conditions in which they were to live. Her sister reminded her of I Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." The sisters then went around their surrounding thanking God. Corrie's sister even thanked God for the fleas. Later on in their story the girls were able to host a Bible study uninterrupted in their barracks. Why? Fleas, the guards would not enter their barracks because of the fleas.
God does not command us to think Him only for the good, but He commands us to thank Him for everything.

Today I was having a hard day, actually it has been a hard week. I having been praying "Lord, could something just go my way." My eyes have been opened, I should not be asking for something, but I should be giving thanks. Tonight as a lie here in bed in the most beautiful country I have ever been in I am not asking but I am saying thank you.

Thank you for these two precious little girls that are asleep next to me. Thank you for my husband, Sadie, and Nolen. Thank you for saving me, loving me, and giving me life. Thank you for the "mess of paperwork" that has kept me here. Thank you for the sunburn on my shoulders, the endless heat, the mosquitoes, Smokey the mouse, and the bats on the porch. Thank You

Rough Week/ Good Week

2012-01-20T06:05:00.001-06:00

Well this has been a rough week. My neighbor that lived across the street from the house I grew up in used to say "I have seen it go on like this for days and then get worse." That is how I feel right now.
We did not make much progress in the adoption "paperwork." We are still waiting on a meeting to take place that will have significant effects on our case. I do not kow when this will be but please remember it in your prayers.
This week I also got to feel Ugandan. I have been feeling "Ugandan" for a while now but I think I was missing one experience that was truely African. Malaria. Yes, I have been in the bed sick with malaria and a bacterial infection. I have had the joy of going to the clinic, having lab work done, and receiving IV fluids and antibiotics. I will say that going to the doctor here was much more pleasant than the dr. in Russia. Being sick with two three year olds running around has not been fun. I keep reminding myself "this too shall pass."
The girls have been well behaved while mommy has been out of commission. The staff at the house has helped me out a lot with them. They have been my nannys and without them I am not sure I would have survived this week.
Even though it was rough it was also good. This week I have been reminded of how much my God protects me. How much He comforts me. I have had to lean on Him this week and seek my comfort in Him. And that has made it a good week.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

MLK Day

2012-01-17T05:55:00.000-06:00

I know I should have posted this yesterday seeing that yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. day. However, being in Uganda it is easy to forget about the holidays that we celebrate in America therefore I am posting it a day late. This is my favorite MLK Jr. qoute from his "I have a dream" speech.

"I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls."
Martin L. King Jr.

Sadie's Prayer

2012-01-16T04:18:00.000-06:00

This weekend I was having my daily skype conversation with Chad and the kids. As usual Sadie asked me when I was coming home with her sisters. My answer is typically "just a few more night nights." Sadie measures her time in how many times she must sleep before something happens. I love it and it is just one of those precious little things about her. She informed that she had been praying everyday for the paperwork to get done so I can bring her sisters home. And then she blessed my heart.
Right there on skype she bowed her head, closed her eyes, and began to pray for me and the girls. She prayed in the sweetest voice and with the most precious words. I do not even think she really understands "paperwork" but she prayed her heart out for ours to get completed. I loved every bit of it. Chad and I just sat in awe and got a bit tearey eyed over hearing our little girl pray such a grown up prayer.

This week has big potential for us. The details of this I unfortunately can not disclose to you, don't feel left out, very few people truely understand all that is happening. However, prayer is definitely needed. Please specifically pray for the hearts of a few Ugandans who will have the opportunity this week to move our case forward. I do not know when this meeting will happen so please lift our case up this week.
Thank you

He Forgot

2012-01-11T23:19:00.000-06:00

During my fourth month of being Ugandan, my husband had to do some Mr. Mom type things. He is back in Tennessee with Sadie and Nolen and this week got to take them to their first day back to school and to the dentist. This was Nolen’s first complete dental cleaning visit and I wish I could have been there to comfort him because he gets a bit nervous about things like this. He has had his teeth looked at before and had to have some minor oral surgery but never a complete cleaning. This was also a first for Chad. It was his first time taking a kid to the dentist. I do not know who was more nervous him or them. I am glad to report that they all did wonderfully.

During Nolen’s visit Chad had to fill out a history form. A few questions about some spots on his teeth came up after the exam. I asked Chad if he informed the doctor about Nolen’s history. For the first seventeen months of his life, Nolen essentially lived in a baby bed. When we got custody of him we are pretty confident that we gave him his first bath and brushed his teeth for the first time.

Chad told me when I asked him about talking to the doctor about Nolen’s medical history that he forgot. Me being the “why” child that I am of coarse had to follow up with “Why not?” Chad corrected himself and explained his answer in a way that spoke to my heart and brought tears to my eyes. You see he did not mean that he forgot to tell the dentist. Chad said he forgot that we had not had Nolen his whole life. He meant he forgot he was adopted.

I love that. Even though our family shows outward physical signs of being a family with adopted children we forget that they are adopted. They are all our children.

Many Words of Encouragment and Some Not So Much

2012-01-11T12:02:00.001-06:00

While being chosen and blessed to be “stuck” in Uganda I have had more emails and facebook messages than I can count. Most of them are words of encouragement. Many of them also include Bible verses to lift me up on my not so great days. These messages are invaluable, priceless as a mastercard commercial would say. It is amazing how an encouraging word can come just when you need it and when you least expect it. However, I was shocked at the not so encouraging messages I have received. I have actually been sent some forms of hate mail, messages not meant to lift me up, not meant to encourage me. I always thought that if Satan was taking the time to attack me that I must be doing something that he did not like. I like to look at my not nice messages as confirmation that I must be doing something right. Oddly enough these not so nice messages are the ones that motivate me. The ones that light a fire under me, get me going, praying, and writing.

During the beginning of my fourth month in Africa I received a message from someone very close to me stating that many people at home in America were “worried that we would move to Africa.” When I think about the “what if” senario I can’t understand why anyone would worry, and even more so I realize that I should not care what others will think if I’m doing what I’m been called to do. I think I care because I want people to understand our family and my passion.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

I Will Not Leave You

2012-01-05T05:35:00.001-06:00

Many times over the past few months and by many different people I have been asked the question, "Why don't you just leave the girls until their paperwork is ready and then return to bring them home?" I am in no way writting this blog to upset any of you who have posed this question but I am simply wanting to explain why I am here and the decision that our family has made.
Yes, I could put the girls back in the orphanage and return to America. I could then return to Uganda to bring them to home once everything was complete. But that scenario does not exist in my world. Everyday I wake up and roll over to four huge coffee bean eyes staring at me, calling me mommy. Everyday I get loved on by the two most beautiful Ugandan children. Of course if I was in America I would wake up to four soft blue eyes staring at me and calling me mommy. And I would get loved on by my mzungu children and my husband.
So how does one choose? This was by no means a decision that has been easy. No matter what descision was made our family would not be together. Either way the hurt of being split by the Atlantic Ocean would exists. But we must decide what is best for our children. Right now the twins need me. We have spent the last four months developing an extremely close bond. At first they would not let me love on them and were not very trusting. Now they want an abundance of love and our trust is constantly strenthening. I am their mother and they are my children. To send them back would be detrimental to our relationship, it is just not an option.
So here I am. Here I will stay until their paperwork is ready. One verse is ever present in my mind lately and that is John 14:18.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Jesus spoke this to his disciples just before he was arrested. He did not leave me as an orphan and I will not leave them.

A Week In Photos

2012-01-03T04:54:00.000-06:00

Going to eat at a restaurant to celebrate my birthday.

Meeting Katie Davis

Riding around Jinja. Riding side saddle, a backpack, one kid, two strollers, and no helmets. Only in Africa.

Auntie Heather and girls on the Nile River

A monkey near the Nile River.

Auntie Heather and Liana

The girls love their Christmas presents.

He Knows What I Need Before I Need It

2011-12-28T06:31:00.001-06:00

As this journey progresses I am constantly reminded of how God knows what I need before I do. This became apparent in a big way this past weekend. While on our way from Kampala to Jinja to celebrate Christmas at the orphanage our driver pulled over on the side of the road. He said we had just passed one of his friends whose car had broken down on the side of the road. The two drivers conversed for a bit and then they asked Heather and I if we would mind sharing our car.
The other driver was bringing a mzungu lady and her daughter back to Jinja for Christmas. Heather and I did not mind sharing and by African standards we had plenty of room in the car. This was a small sedan that ended up carrying seven people. We enjoyed the coversation with the two ladies. Their family was a missionary family that have lived in Jinja for 25 years. The mother was a nurse and the daughter recently graduated from Union University in Tennessee. We found plenty of topics of conversation to talk about for the three hour drive. When we dropped them off in Jinja I exchanged contact information with the mother, Mrs. Evelyn.

After our trip to the orphanage for Christmas we then travelled to Jinja for two nights. We were there to do a bit of the touristy things and get a break from Kampala. During our first few hours in Jinja we noticed large sores developing on Hadley's legs. I have never seen anything like these before. They were large about the size of a half dollar and developed dime size blisters on top of them. Her legs became very painful and she developed a fever. After exhausting an internet search to determine what was going on I finally remembered the nurse we had met a few days ago. It was late in the evening but I called her anyway.
The next morning Mrs. Evelyn showed up at our guest house with her medical bag in tow. She gave Hadley a good look over. Once we determined what was going on Mrs. Evelyn then drove us to a pharmacy and assisted me in purchasing the correct dosage of the needed antibiotic. Hadley is now recovering from her skin strep infection and should be good as new in a few days.

I know that Mrs. Evelyn's driver's car broke down on the side of Jinja rode just so we would know a nurse to call. She was truely God sent.

Matthew 6:8

". . . For your Father knows just what you need before you ask Him."

Christmas In Africa

2011-12-27T12:53:00.002-06:00

What an experience. The Lord knew just what I needed this year and He gave it to me in a big way. As silly as it sounds the one thing I needed this year was to laugh. I knew spending time with Heather would result in a lot of laughter but Christmas was an experience I will never forget.
A few days before a lady whom I have meet several times stayed at our home in Kampala. She is the director of an orphanage just outside of Jinja. Kathy did not want us to be alone on Christmas so she invited us to spend it at her orphanage. We weren't doing anything else so we said yes.
We left for the orphanage Saturday after lunch. We were going to spend one night there and then spend another two nights in Jinja.
A bit about the home. There are 16 children that live there, both boys and girls. The children range from around eight years old to fifteen years old.
When we arrived the children had made us a wonderful sign on a chalkboard in the yard. They all ran out to the car to great us. Several young men immediately grabbed our luggage and carried it inside while some of the girls picked up my twins and took them to play. When we arrived we were shown to our room. We stayed in one of the girls rooms that had two sets of bunk beds in it. We also quickly realized that as is typical in Uganda there was no electricity. There was also no running water which means you can't flush the toilets or take a shower. After settling our things into our room we went outside to meet the children.
We were quickly told of the Christmas plans: we would eat a Christmas Eve dinner, have a bonfire, open stockings in the morning, and go to church on Sunday morning. It sounded pretty good to us so we just went with it.
Christmas Dinner: The orphanage is scheduled to be moving into a new home in a few weeks. That new home is located more in the city and no farm animals are aloud. This was a problem because they had a pet goat named Cowboy. What do you do with a pet goat in Uganda when you need to get rid of it? You turn it into Christmas dinner. We got to experience the children butchering their pet. Some of the kids were not happy about this but many of the older boys took to it without any problem. Heather and I just laughed. Cowboy was quickly delt with and made his way into the stew pot for dinner. The children then thought it would be a good idea to play with his hide. This was quite disturbing but we just laughed it off.
After our feast of rice and Cowboy everyone went outside for a bonfire and to sing Christmas carols. The children wanted a Christmas tree but without one around they had to improvise. They trimmed the bushes and then tied the trimmings to a pole to make a tree. Heather and I helped them make a paper chain to decorate the tree. Singing Christmas carols and praise songs around the bonfire was a wonderful experience. The children sang from deep in their hearts. By the end of the bonfire I had two children (none of which were my girls) asleep in my lap. It was wonderful.
Then we made our way back to the house to go to bed. We brushed our teeth with water we had brought with us and vowed not to drink much because we did not want to need to use the bathroom. Heather and I each slept on the bottom bunks with the girls because the top bunk beds just swayed too much for our comfort. We quickly realized that there were an abundance of cockroaches staying with us. Heather was wonderful, she killed about two dozen of the little friends. After that we decided it would be best just to turn off the lights because at least that way we couldn't see them crawling on the walls.
Sunday morning we woke up to the sound of many happy children. Each child received a stocking containing things such as socks, flashlights, underwear, candy, and toothbrushes. They were so pleased with their goodies. Hadley and Liana even had their own stockings. We ate a light breakfast and the got ready for church. Heather and I escorted 18 children to church by ourselves.
In the end it was a wonderful experience. It was such a blessing to see the children and how happy they were. They were mostly thankful for a roof over their heads and full bellies.
This experience definitely filled my heart. And you never know maybe goat will make it on the menu next year.

Best and Hardest Time to be Here

2011-12-23T02:35:00.001-06:00

Christmas. Yes that is a reality that is becoming more real to me every minute. I am going to spend Christmas in Africa away from Chad, Sadie, and Nolen. To think about that is hard and painful. It hurts to think about them decorating cookies for Santa, reading the Christmas story, and spending the day together without me. It is emotionally painful to the point that it is physical. I have seen photos of six stocking hanging from my mantel and a Christmas ornament with all of our names on it. It is difficult to see these because they make it more real to me. I know they miss me, I miss them. But everyday I spend here in Uganda, away from them is another lesson I am learning, another day I am becoming closer to my heavenly Father, and another day I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.
Why is this the best time to be here? I think if I was in Uganda any other time of the year I would learn the lesson of just how blessed my family is. We have a nice home, cars, and most importantly food to eat. But being here during Christmas makes the extras in my life more apparent. Christmas gifts are all but ignored here. People just don't have the resources to buy any. After talking to many Ugandans it is a special treat for kids to get a pair of shoes for Christmas. What would my kids think if they got a pair of shoes for Christmas? Would they be grateful or disappointed? More than likely they would be disappointed. That is not what I want. I would love for them to learn just how blessed they are. They got to see glimpses of it while here. If I was in Tennessee this holiday season I would and should struggle greatly to be buying an abundance of unneeded items for my kiddos when there are kids here that are literally starving to death.
Families here celebrate Christ's birth and nothing else. There are no gifts to distract from that. You see a few decorations as a reminder but these are very scarce. Christmas is spent together as a family. It is very nice to see people celebrating without all the commercialization.
To help us attempt to get into the Christmas spirit Heather and I decorated a few Christmas trees and reindeer that she brought with her. It is just hard to get into it when it is very hot. Yesterday we were at the grocery store and they were playing "Walking in A Winter Wonderland." This was very amusing because the sun was shining and it was 90 degrees.

Reinforcements

2011-12-19T05:45:00.000-06:00

Last week my "reinforcements," as my mother would say arrived. I picked Heather up from the airport shortly after midnight on Thursday morning. I was so excited to see her and can't wait to get to share this country I have grown to love with her.
Heather brought with her many surprises for me. In her suitcases were the various items I had requested such as vitamins, a few toiletries, snacks, and new shoes for the girls. Thank you so much to all of you who helped gather these items for me. I do not know all who helped with this so I am just going to say one big THANK YOU. It is funny how after three months in Africa the sight of new deodorant and a new toothbrush can get you excited. But it can.
I also had several surprises in her bags. Thursday morning at around 2 am I enjoyed a homemade mini pecan pie and a "knock you naked" brownie. Thank you so much to Misti and Mary Bea for baking these for me. I have been thoroughly enjoying them and am trying to make them last as long as possible.
Also in Heather's suitcases were 26 pairs of shoes. Not shoes for my girls but shoes to be given away. I think every extra square inch of her luggage was crammed with shoes. It has been such a blessing to get to give these shoes to children who do not have any. Today Heather and I were walking and we passed by the little girl who a few weeks ago I gave Liana shoes to. The lady immediately recognized us and once again gave many thanks. This Christmas is definitely going to be a lesson in giving and not receiving. And Heather and I are going to be the ones truely blessed.
She also brought with her some new books and crafts for me to do. I have been enjoying a few new cross stitching projects and when they are done I will proudly show off my work. I was also excited for new books to read and an e-reader loaded with books.

Thank you so much for everyone who helped load up Heather's suitcases.

A Blessing To Be Away

2011-12-13T01:03:00.004-06:00

Our little speed bump that we have hit in this adoption is exactly that. It is not a unpassable barrier or a wall that can not be breached. It is here to slow me down. Make me slow down my life long enough to realize what is going on, to keep me from missing some very important things.
This speed bump is more of a detour that has taken me away from my normal life to teach me what I am missing, what I am doing wrong. The detour will result in putting my life back on path. I just hope that path is a much more enlightened one and one that I don’t easily stray from.

One of the things that has been a blessing in disguise has been being away from my husband, Sadie, and Nolen. I never thought that being away from my family that I have clung to so much could bless me, but it has. Don’t get me wrong it still hurts, deeply. It has been nearly two months since I have seen the other members of my nuclear family. Almost two months since I have smelled the sweet smell of my Sadie, poked the precious dimples of Nolen, and cherished in the company of my husband. My body aches for their presence more than I knew was possible.

I now find myself not wanting to think about the details of their daily life. I don’t want to know when the children’s Christmas programs are because I don’t want to look down at my watch today and realize that I am missing it. I don’t need to know when they are visiting Santa or when they are opening their Christmas presents. I will look at the videos and photos multiple times in the future with tears pouring down my face, but not today. It is at this time easiest to just not let my mind go there. Not let it hope for their embrace or think about all that is occurring in their lives. It is becoming easier in a sense to forget. This is very difficult to admit. I am not forever forgetting them but for this minute it is easier to not have them in my thoughts. I know this probably sounds awful to anyone who has never found themselves in this situation but I also realize how much of a blessing it is.

I now realize just how much I idolatrize my family. Using my family as a form of idolatry has been something I have struggled with for a while now. I have known it has existed and feel like it is an ever present thing in almost all families. But it has taken this trip to reveal to me just how much I do it. It is common to think of idols as small figures that people worship but they are found in all aspects of our everyday life. Our pastor many times has defined idolatry as looking to something that is man made to give you comfort that can only be provided by the creator.

I have been looking to my husband and children for comfort. They have been my idol. Being away from them for this period of time has made this very real to me. When I am hurting and struggling and my family is present it is so easy to lean on them, they will hold me up, and support me. But that is not what I need, that is not what He wants. He wants me to lean on Him and He will support me.

Paul spends a bit of his time in I Corinthians speaking on singleness. I am not single and do not plan on it. But I think I now actually understand just what he is getting at. Paul simply says that he is giving up the opportunity for family, for a wife, for children, so he can serve the Lord. He wanted no more idols to come between him and his creator. Wow. My blessing and pain has been being away from my family. I am learning that is more of a blessing to them for me not to idolatrize them, not to look to them for comfort. For when I look to them for comfort I will always be disappointed because only He can comfort me. Though I ache for Chad's company, I need more than food or water Jesus' embrace.

Jjaja has more necklaces

2011-12-11T01:14:00.000-06:00

This past week celebrated the completion of our third month in Africa. When we started out on this adventure I never could have guessed I would still be here in December. But I am and with that we have had to change our plans a bit.
Chad's mother, Nancy is known to the girls as Jjaja. Jjaja is the Uganda name for grandparent. They often call her Nanny Jjaja in the sweetest high pitch voices. Jjaja left to return home on December 8th. I did not think that the girls really understood what was happening but they never cease to amaze me. When Jjaja was loading her stuff into the car and started her goodbyes Hadley began to cry. Hadley got very upset when Nancy left. I guess she did understand what was happening. They frequently go to the bed she slept in and say Jjaja's bed. They then go and play in her closet and refer to it as Jjaja's closet.
With her Nancy brought a an abundance of paper bead necklaces home. The initial wave of necklace sales was overwhelming and we quickly ran out of what Chad brought back. Nancy has brought enough back for everyone. She has brought back ones of all different lengths and colors. If you are interested please contact her, myself, Chad, or my sister Stephanie. If anyone has paid and not recieved one or has ordered on please send another contact so we can get them to you. For more details about the necklaces click here.
hstewa10@gmail.com
THANK YOU for showing your support

WHY????

2011-12-09T00:11:00.000-06:00

To say that I have a why child is an understatement. What is a why child? It is Sadie. She has the ability to ask “Why mommy?” about everything. She can even ask the question to things I did not even know were possible. I remember on our way to the airport to leave for Uganda she asked me why our car was black. I believe my response was something like that is they way they made it. But I don’t remember if it was enough to satisfy her curiosity.

Sometimes I just don’t know how to answer her questions. Often there are answers but not ones I think I can give to a four year old. She just would not understand. When she questions things that I don’t understand or I don’t know how to explain to her I frequently give her the answer “because Jesus made it that way.” I do not like giving this answer because for the most part it does not help satisfy her curiosity but sometimes it is all I got.

I am constantly amazed by how much our earthly parent to child relationships copy our heavenly Father to child relationships. This “why child” aspect of my relationship with Sadie is a copy of my relationship with the Lord. I am slightly disappointed during this process to have discovered that I am also a “why child.” I find it more during this journey but I am constantly asking my Father “Why?”

Why am I still here? Why am I away from my husband, Sadie, and Nolen? Why couldn’t we be one of those families whose adoption went without a hitch? Why did you choose us for this journey? Why me, Why us, Why Uganda, Why now?

What I have learned as I am conjuring up these questions sometimes the answer is not some fancy worded theological response. It is simply “Because I am God.” As a person of the world it is not possible for Him to explain the situation to me in a way that I can understand. I find that I might not be happy with His answer that sounds similar to the dreaded because I said so. But, it is all that I am capable of understanding. I know I will continue to ask these whys throughout my life. I hope to be able to remember that sometimes I don’t need to know. All that I really need to do is be obedient and trust in Him to make the decisions for me.

The Girls

2011-12-07T04:45:00.001-06:00

The girls are beautiful. It amazes me how two little girls could have survived so much, more than most people can imagine, and yet come out as well balanced individuals. They are not identical twins though they do resemble each other a bit. There personalities are as different as night and day. Hadley is our little girlie girl who likes everything done in a very particular way. She is a bit picky about putting things away and having everything in order. I can envision her room as being kept immaculate with every item having its own assigned place. She also loves to dress up with jewelry and shoes. Hadley has this way of smiling at you with the her eyes. It is as if the outside of her eyes slightly turn up and when she smiles her whole face lights up.

Liana is a handful, a mess is what I often call her. She is the total opposite of her sister. She does not seem to mind if things are put away in a specific order. I can imagine her keeping her room similar to mine when I was growing up, a disaster. She is very spirited and full of life. Liana is a never ending ball of energy and joy. She has the ability to liven up the drabbest of situations. She has full round cheeks that seem to squish her big round coffee bean eyes when she smiles. Her laugh is abundant and contagious.

I am continuing to refrain from posting photographs of the girls until this "mess" is cleared up.

More Than I Can Handle

2011-12-05T01:47:00.000-06:00

Growing up I remember being told that God will not give you more than you can handle. Until this trip I always believed that, it was what I had been told. During my African adventure I have learned that I had it wrong, very wrong. In fact after much searching through my Bible for scriptural support of this I found that it is not there. It sounds good to say and is encouraging but it simply is not true. He does not promise to not give us more than we can handle.

I believe now that God does give us more than we can handle and he does it everyday all around the world. It is at that point where we are at our weakest and worn down that all we have left is to rely on Him. If he only gave us what we could manage we would not need Him. I need Him more than I ever knew because I can not handle all that has been given to me. I could not possibly handle three toddlers in Uganda on my own for eight days. I could not possibly manage being in Uganda for three months and counting. I could not imagine being away from Chad, Sadie, and Nolen for seven plus weeks. I am just not that strong and I am learning everyday that that is the point. I am not strong enough and never will be. But He is and He took care of me when I leaned on him. Lord I can’t manage this by myself. I need you to guide me and to direct my paths on this hard journey.
This is a test, I am being tested. I can trust Him to hold me up and support me or I could try to do it myself and fail.

During the early hours of our second day in Uganda, while watching Sadie play with her dolls I prayed fervently. We sat on a twin bed in the second bedroom of the apartment surrounded by a mosquito net that I felt like was constantly attacking me. I know the net was not attacking me but Satan definitely was. I was hungry, exhausted, dirty, and overwhelmed. I needed help and I knew just who would provide that for me. My husband was not there to help me, neither were my parents, I could not just run to the store and get the supplies I needed, I could not even turn on the faucet to provide my girls with a drink of water. I had definitely been given more than I could handle. During my tear filled eyes under that mosquito net God let me know that he would provide all the things I could not provide for these girls. I was guided to the scriptures of Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your paths.”

When I stepped off the plane and was followed very soon by being handed two precious little girls I was upset. I was frustrated and angry at times. I was looking for someone to blame the situation on, someone had to have made a mistake in getting that custody order. I did not understand the whole plan. All I knew was that this plan was not the one I had created. Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Now I can look back on those days and understand just what was happening. God was preparing me for the “long haul.” He knew that in order for me to hang with it through this hard and crazy journey I was going to quickly need to learn to rely on Him, only Him.

Thanksgiving Part 2

2011-12-02T03:39:00.001-06:00

As the days before Thanksgiving approached I knew I wanted to acknowledge the holiday in some manner. We knew a full out Thanksgiving feast would not be possible but we would come as close as we could. I spoke with Mrs. Harriet, the chef, about what our family usually did for Thanksgiving. She helped me and the other ladies at the house create a lunch menu that we were excited about.
Cranberry sauce, yes you can find it in Africa. It is not in the shape of a can with the little ripples, the way I am used to it but it is still cranberry sauce. You can’t have Thanksgiving without it. The three families that celebrated Thanksgiving in Africa together enjoyed a feast. It did not constitute a Thanksgiving feast by American standards but after three months in Africa it was as good as it got. We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, the before mentioned cranberry sauce, green beans, cornbread dressing, deviled eggs, and banana pudding for dessert. We were happy, satisfied, and thankful. As we set on the long simple wooden table and enjoyed our feast I could not help but look at the all cocoa colored faces around the table. Those faces are what we were truly thankful for. There were four precious Ugandan children celebrating their first of many Thanksgiving feasts.

As we enjoyed our day together I thought I would be sad to see my family celebrating with their usual celebration. But I wasn’t. I was right were I wanted to be, I was doing what God had called me to do and that is where I wanted to be, that was home.

I am grateful for our surrogate family that gathered around our table on Thanksgiving. There were no festive decorations, no fancy table linens, no fine china, and no turkey. But there was a family, four perfect children, and love, a lot of love.

Thanksgiving In Africa: Part 1

2011-12-01T01:45:00.001-06:00

About two week prior to Thanksgiving I had hope that we might make it home by the holiday. I was anxious to get home for several reasons. Besides the fact that this trip was dragging out way longer than I had intended a close friend was scheduled to give birth to twin sons the upcoming week. I dearly wanted to be home for this event, before leaving I didn’t imagine in my wildest dreams that I would still be in Africa when the Comstock boys were born. I also just wanted to be home on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a big holiday for my family more emphasis is often placed on this family gathering than the one at Christmas. It serves as an annual family reunion for my family on my mother’s side. People come from several states and we all only see each other about once a year. It is quite the occasion. If you have ever been to a big southern family Thanksgiving you would know what I mean. If we made it this year there would have been a total of thirty two people. Everyone brings at least one dish making up of at least forty savory and sweet dishes to dig into. After making little pigs of ourselves at my families celebration Chad and I would then cart our crew over to his parent’s house. Their house is just a few miles away and there we would indulge once again in another too large meal with wonderful family. This one is a bit smaller but equally delicious.

A few weeks before the holiday Nancy and I were daydreaming about our favorite Thanksgiving treats. We had both agreed that a pecan pie would be amazing and had put in our order for there to be one present at the family gathering. Daydreaming about your favorite food is something that is difficult to avoid after three months in Africa. We are by no means starving. In fact we are eating quite well but there is something amazing about the food that you grew up with. Comfort food, sometimes you just need a taste of home.

While I still had hopes of making it home before Thanksgiving I committed myself to a day of prayer and fasting during the weekend. I knew that the following Monday could either be a great day or a hard day. The next day we were going to be going to the U.S. embassy to receive an update on our case. We expected to hear that we would either be going home or we would be hanging around a bit longer. I knew that this was an event that I had no control over. God was in control. I need to give my concerns about the upcoming day over to him and trust in his plan.

I joked to Nancy about needing to walk around the embassy seven times. Joshua walked around Jericho once a day for six days. On the seventh day he and his army walked around the city seven times. On the seventh time they blew their horns and the walls came tumbling down. After lightly joking about the idea we decided to prayer walk the embassy. Due to the design of the embassy and very tight security we were not able to walk around the entire compound. We were able to walk in front of the embassy and its gates. We prayer walked in front of the embassy several times over the weekend. We both spent the time praying out loud except for when we passed on of the guards. The guards at the embassy patrol with very large guns thrown over their shoulders. The last thing I wanted was for them to become suspicious of the crazy ladies walking by while talking to themselves.

Sunday night during my bubble bath quiet time I decided not to ask for anything. I had been doing a lot of that lately and thought I would try a different approach. Instead I choose to fill all my bubbles with thanks. I have heard my daughters say “Thank you Mommy.” I could not remember the last time I said “Thank you father.” Leave it to a three year old to put me in my place and teach me what I ought to do. Thank you Father for my precious daughters. Thank you for the food we have in our bellies and the roof we have over our heads. After a bit of time in Africa you realize just how grateful we should be for food and shelter. Thank you God for despite all of my shortcoming you choose me to do this. I know I am messing it up big time, but thank you.

My thank you’s continued from the bathtub to the bed. Sleep for once came quit easy, a rarity for me in Africa. I did not realize at the time but the Lord was changing my heart, drastically for the better. I found joy and peace unlike I had experienced before. I had hoped that the joy and comfort I felt was because I was going to go home. I wanted that so much. But yet once again God had different plans. Better plans that would teach me so much more than my own.

Monday Nancy and I pushed the girls in our two worn out umbrella strollers to the embassy. The walk was as memorable as walking down Gaba road always was. Walking down Gaba Road with two strollers is something that always requires a large amount of prayer. It is walking down a very busy road full of cars and bodas (motorcycle taxis). You walk within five feet of traffic. The cars come by you so close that you feel the wind blow pass you and you pray. This trip we prayed as usual but we also continued our prayer walk in front of the embassy.

When we had our meeting with the Consular at the embassy we did not get the good news I had hoped for. We were told that we should expect to remain in Africa a few more months. A few more months, Really God is that needed. Nancy and both cried before the consular and poured our hearts out to her. The Consular as always remained unshaken and indifferent. Disappointment was visible across our faces. I was grateful to be able to hide my tears behind my sunglasses for the long hot walk back to the house.

I was grateful for the walk back. It gave me some time with my Father. It is amazing how you can find yourself in the hustle and bustle of a big city and yet all be quiet while you have a conversation with the creator of the universe. Okay God, why am I here. What are you doing with me? Please help guide me through this emotional and difficult time. Why me? Why my family? Months, does it really have to take months?

What I realized was that the joy, peace, and comfort I had found did not diminish. It miraculously increased, unexpectedly, and warming my whole being. I was okay with staying in Africa a few more months. I know this sounds crazy and it still does to me. I don’t know how I could be okay, comfortable with the thought of being away from Chad, Sadie, and Nolen for a few more months. The only explanation I had was that it was a gift from above, a much needed gift. I had said yes, God I will do what you have asked me to and he had rewarded me with joy and peace.

His Thoughts are Not My Thoughts

2011-11-30T03:42:00.000-06:00

To say I have a bit of spare time on my hands is an understatement. I have a lot of time on my hands. Much of this is spent playing with the girls and reading. A lot of reading. Mrs. Ellen has a library that has grown with each guest that has stayed here. There is an abundance of sappy christian romance novels in the library. I am currently reading my 20th book since staying at this house. I think I have been here around six weeks so about 3 books a week. I would never find time to read this much at home.
Lately I have been searching for a new book of the Bible to dive into. I also needed a verse to explain just how I am feeling and to give me comfort when needed. I was surprised when I found just that in one of the romance novels.
Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
I think that pretty much sums up my emotions of the current situation. I have my thoughts. Mainly right now they are of trying to be home by Christmas. I would love for all six Stewarts to be celebrating Christmas together in America. But my thoughts are not His thoughts. The way I would do is not His way.
His way far surpasses mine.

Delighting in Him

2011-11-23T08:47:00.000-06:00

One day during my prayer time I pray "Oh how my heart longs to have my family together." I have laid my heart out for our heavenly father, a few weeks ago we were together, one family unit of six in the middle of Africa. Soon we will be a unit again this time in America. I am doing my best to stay positive in my bubble bath thoughts but sometimes I just find myself having a pitty party. Dotting on the negative has done nothing for me in the past and I am trying to avoid that as much as possible. I know that nobody shows up to my pitty parties but satan and myself. I keep remembering the verse “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” I have seen this verse hundreds of time painted on a small picture in a wooden frame hanging in my in-laws home. Maybe I need to make one of these for my own home. I repeatedly pray God you know the desires of my heart.
I have known of this verse every since I was little. But the true meaning of it has only recently been made clear to me. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This does not mean that what I want he will get for me. I remember reading this as a little girl and thinking of physical wants. I can recall praying for things and thinking this verse meant God would give those things to me. Man did I have it wrong. The part I was missing was the “delight.” I mistook delight as praying. What I now know is that to “delight yourself in the Lord” is to spend time with him in a intimate relationship. It is very difficult to explain this relationship unless you yourself have experienced it. What I have learned is that by delighting and remaining in Him the desires of my heart change. I no longer use this verse as an excuse to ask for things I don’t need but it is now for me to understands what He asks of me. God fulfills this scripture in my life by radically changing the desires of my heart. I now desire to please Him, to do what he calls me to do, to obediently follow him, no matter the costs. Right now the cost is being apart from my family. When you write it all down it doesn’t seem like to much to ask but upon further investigation I am so very blessed. I am just away from my son, He gave his only son to die for me.

He Is Not Done With Me Yet

2011-11-16T08:42:00.000-06:00

This past weekend Nancy and I started to prepare ourselves to go the embassy on Monday. We knew that Monday would be a day of celebration or disappointment. We prayer walked by the embassy several times over the weekend. We even bought what we hoped would be celebration Snickers candy bars. I spent Sunday as a day of fasting and praying. I found a peace. During the weekend I found myself at peace with being here in Africa. I had hoped that the peace and comfort I felt meant we were going to get the girls visas to come home. However, I now know that God was giving this to me for a different reason. He was giving me peace and joy to be able to handle the news that was to come. He is not done with me yet in Africa. I was naturally disappointed at the thought of spending the holidays away from Chad and the kids. But I know that I am doing what the Lord has called me to do. Throughout this crazy process I have never doubted that we are doing what God has called us to do. He made it very clear in his word and through prayer that we are to care for the orphans. It is what I have been called to do. I did not know that this meant spending a bit of time in Russia or Africa but He never reveals the whole plan to us. It is amazing how you can handle far more than you ever thought when you know that it is to bring glory to God.
Please continue to lift our family up in prayers. We heard news today that it will more than likely take 30 to 60 days to straighten all of this out.

Stuck Again

2011-11-14T13:45:00.000-06:00

I know it has been awhile since I have given an update. And many of you have not been able to follow us because the blog has been occassionally blocked. I might block the blog more, just be patient with me as this progresses. The truth is until today there has not been anything to tell you. We have just been hanging around the house waiting on the embassy.
Today we knew that the embassy had the test results in their office. We chose to prayer walk in front of the embassy as we prepared to meet with the consular. Even though the results are in there is still a glitch in the paperwork of our adoption. Due to this we are not being granted visas for the girls. It looks like we are going to be stuck her for a bit longer. Hopefully this week some questions will be answered and we can make some better decisions. As far as right now we just don't know. We don't know how long this is going to all take. I hope to be home by Christmas. I just can't think about being away from my muzungu children on Christmas. Nancy is going to be staying here with me until we determine just how long this should take to figure out.
Thank you so much for all the prayers that you have been sending. Thank you to those of you that have been feeding my family and stocking my pantry. It has been such a blessing to not have to worry about Chad and the kids.

At Home in Africa

2011-11-05T12:48:00.000-05:00

I recently was sent an email from a friend containing her daily devotion. She sent it because it reminded her of us. Reading it made me really think about somethings and helped me understand my feelings about this experience. I am going to try to explain this to you.
I like Africa, I really do. This might seem strange to some who can't understand why I could like being away from my earthly home like this. Don't get me wrong I miss my family, friends, and my home. I miss some silly things about life in Tennessee. I miss fitted bed sheets, a kitchen trash can, my dogs, cooking in my kitchen, and reading the newspaper with my morning coffee. I have also found that there are some things that I don't miss. I don't miss my television humming in the background, my dogs barking, and cold weather. During this trip I have had a peace about being here. Reading this devotional helped me understand just where that peace comes from. Wherever I go, whatever I do Christ dwells in me. He is in my heart and in Him I am home.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. Ephesians 3:17

Praying For Perseverance: Get Ready

2011-11-02T02:48:00.000-05:00

I have always heard don't pray for patience because God will put you in a situation that will test your patience. This is an old saying that you hear when you grow up in church. The thing I was not told was not to pray for perseverance. Trust me, I know now from experience that if perseverance comes into your prayers GET READY.
I have said over and over again that through out this adoption process God has put me in the book of James. I have found myself continually drawn to read the writings of Jesus' brother James. I now know why the Lord directed me to these scriptures. Many adopting families refer to the verse James 1:27.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I love this verse and hold it dear to my heart but it is not the verse in James that I have been dwelling on. I have been rereading James 1:2-4, 12.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

I now know that God has had me spending time is these scriptures since February so that I would have the strength to persevere through this. I love Africa but I miss my family and home. I know that what God is doing in my family here is to bring more Glory to Him. Therefore I am able to find joy in this process.

Not Much To Do

2011-10-30T08:18:00.000-05:00

Bored, that is what I am. Staying with Mrs. Ellen and Mr. Herb is wonderful. Their staff cook our wonderful meals and do our laundry. This does not leave much for us to do. With Sadie and Nolen gone the place is much calmer and a little bit quieter. Nanny JaJa and I have both taken to reading a lot. Mrs. Ellen has a small library with a mixed collection of books that have been left by various guest. I have already read 6 novels since Chad left last week. I have also read a couple books of the Old Testament. With no television after the kids go to bed there is not much else to do but read. We also like to take walks when the weather permits.
It is currently rainy season in Uganda. It rains about once a day. When big storms come we usually loose power. I think the power was out more this week than it was on. There is a small generator at the house that can be used to provide a little light in the evening. However, it is not strong enough to power the hot water heater. Yesterday when the power came back on we both took showers as soon as we could. We are glad we did because about an hour later the power was out again.
The girls are doing very well with playing with the toys we have. We have a small drawer that they use as a toy box for their toys. We also have a couple of books. They love to read Llama Llama Mad at Mama. After we read this book I hear the repeating llama llama. They also love to play with their baby dolls. They carry them around in the back of their dresses. The ladies here carry their babies on their backs. The girls also play feed them and put them to sleep. Hadley likes to play dressup with some play jewelry and our shoes. They are still very scared of the dog so we don't play in the yard much. I hope they can get over that pretty soon.

Day Trip to the Equator

2011-10-28T02:54:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we took a short trip to the equator. It was about a 2 hour drive from Kampala. They had a science experiment set up a the equator, at which the science teacher in me came out. I was upset that we did not have enough battery power in our camera to record the experiment. There was a bowl with a hole in the bottom of it. A man poured water into the bowl and you watched it swirl in different directions. There was one bowl in the northern hemisphere, one in the southern hemisphere, and one on the equator. I have heard of this experiment before but I thought that the bowls would need to be quite a bit of distance apart. But I was wrong. They are about 15 feet from each other. The water on the north hemisphere rotated clockwise while the water on the southern hemisphere rotated counter clockwise. The water in the bowl on the equater went straight down.

Update

2011-10-27T02:31:00.000-05:00

We have had a lot going on here on the otherside of the world. Chad, Sadie, and Nolen left here Tuesday night they arrived home on Wednesday. It was very hard to see them go. The kids were excited to go home, Sadie has been a bit homesick. When I asked them what they missed the most both of them said they missed their dogs. Sadie told me she wanted PaPa to get her a Frosty from Wendys on the way home. Chad was amazing. A few months he did not want to go to Target with both kids but this week he travelled around the world with them. It was good see the facebook photos of their homecoming, they made me more ready to come home.
Yesterday Nancy, H, L, and myself went to the US Embassy to complete the DNA testing. The girls and both birthparents were tested. The tests are being sent via FedEx back to the US to be analyzed. Now all we have to do is wait. That is going to be the hard part.
Thank you to all who have requested the necklaces. Chad brought many home with him. He should have them available at The Bridge on Sunday. My sister also has many with her in Memphis. If you need further information on how to contact them please let me know.

Paper Bead Necklaces For Sale

2011-10-24T05:48:00.001-05:00

Since we will be hanging around a bit longer we will be having a few extra expenses. To help us with this I am going to offer paper bead necklaces. We purchased these necklaces from the girls baby home in Jinja. The ladies at the baby home make the necklaces by rolling recycled pieces of paper into beads. The beads are then dipped into a type of resin. Arise and Shine babies home sales these in order to fund the orphanage. By purchasing these necklaces you will be helping fund the orphanage and help us bring home our girls.
The necklaces are long enough to be wrapped around your neck up to 3 times. They are multicolor. We are selling them for $15 each. Chad will have them available when he returns home in a few days. You can also purchase them from our family in Memphis. We hope to be seeing most of you around the holidays. If you would like us to bring you home a necklace please send me an email to hstewa10@gmail.com or post a comment.

Forgiveness: Working on It

2011-10-22T13:04:00.004-05:00

The only way to describe this week is emotional. I have been from the highest highs to the lowest lows. I have felt wronged by our lawyer, Dorah Mirembe and desserted by our agency, Little Miracles International. Due to a simple mistake by a lawyer who does not show much care we are still here. This was a small oversight on her behalf but a $10,000 extra expense to us. We have decided to reduce contact with our adoption agency because they don't seem to believe us or be able to help us. when. So wronged and desserted is what I feel. I am not sure who I would recommend for a Ugandan adoption but I know who not to use.
I have struggled with these emotions towards these people this week. I have been angered more than I knew possible. I have not always handled it with the most christian like attitude. I know anger is an emotion that's okay to feel. Jesus got angry at the temple. But I need to move on. I need to forgive them. I can't let them leave a negative impression on all that God has done with me here.
Today we went to an orphanage outside Kampala. We went with a lady, Mrs. Tonya, who is staying with the missionary family we are staying with. This lady runs an organization called Kirabo Seeds. She collects money in the states to fund the orphanage. She made an unplanned trip here this week because the director of the orphange was not using the funds for the children. Today she took us to see where 50 children live in 2 rooms. I did not know people could live on so little. These children had only the shirts on their backs. We went for a birthday party celebrating many of the children's birthdays. They took cakes for the children to enjoy and blankets for birthday presents. Mrs. Tonya spoke to the children about the event that had occured. She was really speaking to me. She spoke about how we must forgive those that have done us wrong. God brought me to a tiny place in the middle of nowhere, where I could not be distracted and told me to forgive those that have wronged me.

New Place

2011-10-20T13:32:00.001-05:00

Today we moved to a new place to stay. We are staying with a retired missionary family. They have a duplex and are letting us stay in one half of the home. The family is Ellen and Herb Cook. There is a cook that will make 3 meals a day. The best part: there is a washing machine. It is nice to get settled in before Chad leaves with our 2 muzungu children. The family also has a dog named Roxy. Sadie and Nolen have loved getting to play with Roxy. Nolen even asked if Roxy could sleep with him. However, Hadley and Liana are terrified of her. They have never been close to a dog before and find her very scary. Hopefully we can use this time to get them used to dogs since we have 2 at home.

It has become evident to me that the next few weeks is my time to be still.

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted among the earth.

This is my time to let God do His work. I need to wait on Him to finish what He is doing with my family in Uganda. I want dearly to come home. But even more I want to do what my God has called me too. I am not yet sure what else He has in store for me here. It might just be time for me to spend with Him, uninterrupted by the everyday life in America, it might be to share my story with you, I might find a mission opportunity to work on, or I might not ever know. These are all things that I am coming to terms with as I enter the beginning of my 7th week in this beautiful country.

2011-10-17T15:27:00.003-05:00

Today was suppossed to be a great day. I was going to get visas for

my daughters to come home today. But the Lord had different plans.

We went to the embassy today with the court order and the birth

parents of the girls. We also took all of the needed documents. Our

Embassy appointment in Russia took less than an hour. So around hour

number 5 Chad and I new something was not right. The consular at the

embassy is new. She is being very strict. There was confusion

in the paperwork about the girls birthdate. They had recorded 2

different dates as their birthdate. From my understanding this is

common in this country. Often people don't know their exact

birthdates as they are not born in hospitals. Record keeping is poor

at its best. The consular did not like the descrepancy in the dates.

Therefore, she would not issue the visas. She said this raises a red

flag on our case. The embassy is undergoing what they call a fraud

investigation. She said that she needs to investigate if we have

obtained the girls based on fraud.

Chad and I sat in her office and both cried our eyes out. Then she

said that the embassy is small and has a small staff. However they

make adoption cases a priority. She followed this with saying that

best case scenario we would be issued visas in a month.

We are currently scurrying around trying to decide what we are going

to do. Does Chad come home and go back to work? Who stays in Uganda?

How are we going to fund this? What do we do? The only thing I know

is that I am not leaving my girls.

We need a lot of prayers sent our way. This is a very difficult time

for us. I know the end result will be well worth it but we are ready

to come home. I have to keep my faith that the Lord has put me here

for a reason. I don't know that reason but maybe one day I will make

sense of it.

Written Ruling/ In Kampala

2011-10-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

Friday morning began with Chad and Holly waiting at the court once again. We did not have promise that we would receive our ruling but we had nothing to lose. After about 3 hours of waiting we had the document. Everyone was so excited. We then packed up the car and left for Kampala.
We arrived in Kampala with enough time to pick up the girls passports. Everything is ready for us to go to the Embassy on Monday morning.
Sorry this is so short but it is late and I am tired.

Moving To Kampala

2011-10-13T15:10:00.002-05:00

We still have not yet received our written ruling from the judge. The judge has broken her leg and has not been at court. We hope to get the ruling by Monday. If we dont receive the ruling by Tuesday we will be here another week. I am staying positive and we just are not going to think about being here another week. Africa has been wonderful but I am ready to be back home. We joke around by talking about what we want to eat when we get home. Sadie and Nolen have both agreed on Frostys from Wendys. I dont think Chad and Nancy have yet decided. I just want a hamburger, the really unhealthy fast food kind.
The food here is not bad but it is not great either. For the most part it is bland. They eat a lot of carbohydrates such as rice and posho. Posho is a staple and is made from maize meal. It looks similar to mashed potatoes. It is pretty much tasteless. Posho is what most children in orphanages live on. While we were on Safari the lodge served a buffet for dinner. They had posho on the buffet and I put a small bit of it on Liana's plate. She let me know real fast that she was not eating that anymore. She threw it all on the floor.
We are going to go ahead and move to Kampala. After 5 and a half weeks in Jinja I am going a bit stir crazy. There are a few touristy things that we can do there hopefully to help pass the time. There are also some other adopting families staying at the guest house in Kampala. On Saturday we are planning on taking a day trip to the equator. We hope to also see some wild zebras.
Please keep praying for our written ruling. The ruling is all typed up and ready to go. The judge just has to sign it.

The Judge Said Yes

2011-10-12T01:39:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we appeared before the judge in her chambers. She told us that guardianship was granted. Yeah! We are now waiting on the official written document in order to proceed to the embassy.
Appearing before the judge did not occur without quite the event to get there. We waited around yesterday morning hoping for news that we should go to court. Around 12:30 we put the kids down for a nap and then the frenzy began. At 12:45 we recieved a call from the lawyers office. They said that we should appear at court at 2 pm. At 1:00 they called back and said that we will not be attending court. Nancy and I decided to go for a walk into town to finish up some shopping. We made it about half a mile. Chad came running to find us. Yes, he left 4 kids asleep at the apartment. They had called back and told us that we were to go to court at immediately. Our driver passed by us and gave us a ride back to the guest house. Everyone was all sweating and the kids were asleep. But we got all dressed up in about 5 minutes. We made it to court house just in time to see the judge.

Local Artist Painting of our Family

2011-10-11T02:51:00.000-05:00

Court Again

2011-10-10T13:16:00.001-05:00

Today we returned to court in hopes of receiving our ruling. The judge typically will issue a verbal ruling and then a few days later you will receive the legal document. We waited at court for 6 hours and the judge never showed up. The clerk kept telling us that the judge was coming and we should wait. So we waited. We are going to try again on Tuesday. It is looking like we will not make it back home until the end of next week. I am completing my fifth week here and am getting anxious to go home. I am seeking comfort in the book of James. I know what the end result will be and that makes this all worth it. I find that you can put up with much more than you ever thought when you know that it is for the Lord.

Consider it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Our daily life here is boring and interesting all at the same time. We don't do too much because it is just too hard with 4 toddlers. I usually spend a couple of hours a day washing clothes. The rest of the time is spent playing outside. The children love to play outside in the courtyard. There are a few bikes and a swing for them to play on. Sadie has started speaking some in her version of Lugandan. She basically talks in jibirish to the girls. They act like they know what she is saying and listen to her. It is quite entertaining to watch.
We are starting to see the girls personalities develop. L is a mess and likes to play outside. She is more of a tomboy. H has a sweet spirit and likes to play dressup. It is interesting to watch how 2 children with the exact same life experience are so different.

I am sorry for so few photos. The device that transfers photos from my camera to computer is not working.

1 Month in Africa

2011-10-07T01:35:00.001-05:00

Today is the one month mark for Sadie and my adventure in Africa. We are all starting to get a bit homesick. Sadie has started to request to go home to her house on Windy Way. It is very sweet to hear her talk this way but it is also hard because I want to be able to take her home.
During one month in Africa I have learned more than I learn in months at home. Here are a few things about Uganda.
You drive on the left side of the road.
There are no carseats and very few seatbelts.
Electricity only works half the time. Also meaning hot water is not always available.
Nobody has a watch.
Shoes are sometimes a luxury.
Life is hard.
Pineapples and mangos are the best I have ever had.
There is red dust everywhere and on everything.
The children have huge round eyes and big smiles.
The children are beautiful.

We are still waiting on our final court ruling. We will hopefully be recieving this on Monday. Please keep this in your prayers for we are all ready to come home.

Safari

2011-10-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

We spent the last 4 days and 3 nights on our African Safari. We drove to Murchison Falls National Park. There we stayed in a lodge and went on game viewing drives. We had a blast. This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. The kids had a blast seeing all the animals and playing in the lodge pool. Some of the animals came right up to the lodge. We saw elephants, hippos, and baboons a little too close for comfort. We even saw some baboons take some things out of a car that had left their windows open. We also saw giraffes, crocodilles, lions, several types of African deer, rhinos, and monkeys. I think photos are the best way to describe this experience.

Court

2011-09-27T08:14:00.000-05:00

On Monday we appeared to the Jinja court. This was definitely another experience that makes me grateful to be an American. I love that in our country we have the right to due process. The judge summoned us to court at 9:00 am. She arrived a little after 9:30. The court was an open courtroom and the judge had about 10 civil cases that day. She called each case up and proceeded with the hearings in front of everyone in court that day. While she was working on other cases we were expected to sit there and keep the girls quiet. This doesn't seem like too hard of a task until you include the fact that we were there for 8 hours. Ours was the last case of the day. We finished around 5 pm.
The judge said that we would get our ruling on October 10th. All of our council and lawyers have said that this is a good thing. It means that we will get a positive ruling on that day.
Now we wait and pray.

This has been a very nerve wrecking process. During all of this I keep reminding myself that the Lord has provided for us to be here. He has taken care of us until this point and will continue to look after us until we get home.

Pseudo Triplets!!!

2011-09-25T12:28:00.000-05:00

Today we did not go to church. Instead all 7 of us went back to the baby house. They were having a birthday party for two of the children there. We had a wonderful day. We played with all of the children there for several hours. We took bubbles and balloons. We also took some toys that we brought from the states. The children had a great time. Sadie and Nolen played outside with the other kids and made some new friends.
The birth mother of the girls was also there. We were able to learn some more about the family. We also learned that the birthdate that is on the girls birth certificate is not correct. They were issued birth certificates this summer when we began the paperwork process to adopt them. Several times over the past few weeks I have asked the lawyers and our coordinator if they are sure that it is the correct date. I have felt like they are a bit older than that based on developement. Everyone said that it was the correct date. Then today the mother told me when they were born. There was a typo on the certificates. We have thought the girls to be born in the summer of 2009. Wrong! They were born in the summer of 2008. This was quite a shocker to me. This means the girls are 1 month older than Nolen. I guess he won't be needing that big brother shirt I bought him. Poor Nolen he has three older sisters. We have four children whose birthdays are all within 54 weeks of each other.

I Would Gather Children

2011-09-24T08:38:00.000-05:00

Some would gather money
Along the path of life,
Some would gather roses,
And rest from worldly strife.

But I would gather children
From among the thorns of sin,
I would seek their twinkling eyes,
And reveal mischievous grins.

For money cannot enter
In that land of endless day,
And roses that are gathered
Soon will wilt along the way.

But oh, the laughing children,
As I cross the sunset sea,
And the gates swing wide to heaven
I can take them in with me!

Author Unknown

Thursday and Friday

2011-09-23T09:07:00.001-05:00

On Thursday we made yet another trip to Kampala. Just Holly, Chad, H, & L went on this trip. Sadie, Nolen, and Nancy stayed at the guest house. We finished the girls physicals at the IOM office, they got the all clear. One weighs 24 pounds and one is 25 pounds. L is a centimeter taller and 1 pound heavier. The girls did okay. They were afraid they would get pricked again but relaxed after being there a few minutes.
After this we went to the lawyers office. The people we were to be meeting their were running a couple of hours late, this is common in Uganda. We decided to go to a nearby mall that had a playground. The girls were very skeptical of the slides. Once we convinced them to try them they loved them. The morning was filled with lots of giggles and laughs. We ate lunch at the food court mall. This was an interesting experience. It was not like in the states when you go to the food place and order your food. You sit down in the food court and a person from each restaurant brings you a menu. This means that about 10 to 15 people are shoving menus in your face and just waiting on you to pick their restraunt.
We proceeded on from the mall back to the lawyers office. There we had our meeting with the birth parents. I will not be sending any details about this. It was an emotional day. Few words were said due to a language barrier but no words were needed.
We were also able to schedule a safari. Next week after court we will travel to one of their national parks for three days and two nights. Sadie is really looking forward to this.

Friday morning we did a bit of touristy things. We first went to see the source of the Nile river and Lake Victoria. The source of the Nile is a spring that bubbles up from the ground, it is a really neat thing to get to see. We took a ride on a boat down the river and onto the lake a bit. We saw lots of birds, lizards, and monkeys.
We then went up the river a bit to some water falls. These falls are commonly white water rafted on. We took another small boat ride and a hike to see some of the best views I have ever seen. It was absolutely beautiful. I will post photos as soon as I can get my memory stick reader to work. There were some teenage boys there that you could pay to go down the falls. This is their job. They hold onto these big yellow jugs and ride down the waterfalls. As we are watching these boys do this I was thinking I just paid to watch these boys die. But they surfaced, smiling and waving.
We are going to hang around the guest house a few days and relax before court.
Thank you for all of the prayers you have been sending.

New Security for the Blog

2011-09-21T14:21:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the inconvenience of having to sign in inorder to view the blog. Due to the upcoming events security is very important. I have been receiving a lot of blog hits from readers in Uganda. I do not know if they have any relations to our case or not but it has been suggested to up the security settings. The blog will become open to the public again once these events have occurred.
This week we have been busy completing the more paperwork. We almost have it all completed. Tomorrow we will be going to an office called the International Office of Migration. This is where the girls will finish their physical. Children entering the U.S.A. must have a physical and be tested for certain diseases. Earlier in the week they recieved a TB test as part of this physical exam. This is just another part of the process to bringing the girls home.
We have still not been able to make contact with the birth parents. We have had 3 failed attempts so far. Hopefully in the morning we will be successful. This meeting is required by the judge and must be made before court on Monday.
This morning we were able to visit the baby home where the girls lived. It was wonderful to get to see the home and all of the children there. We were able to hand out lots of headbands and recieved many smiles. The director told us that they were always in need of more food. We went to a place in the market that sold bulk bags of rice. We purchased 2 fifty kilogram bags of rice for the home. That is approximately 220 pounds. The director and the children were very excited to see the rice. If only all it took was a bag of rice to make my children at home this happy.

Trips to Kampala

2011-09-19T12:27:00.000-05:00

These past few days have been a bit crazy. Chad, Nancy, and Nolen arrived in Kampala on Friday night. I got up at 5 am on Saturday and drove into the city with the girls. It takes at least 2 hours to drive from Jinja to Kampala. It is not very far distance wise but there is no interstate here in Uganda. There is one road between the 2 cities and everyone takes that road. The drive is interesting the first time but gets old very quickly. I have been vomitted on, peed on, and pooped on all on this stretch of road. There are no bathrooms and therefore no stopping. This does not make for a child friendly trip. The drive allows for you to get to see a bit of the country. You pass sugar cane plantations, tea plantations, and through a rainforest.
Saturday we had our meeting at the lawyers office. She prepared us for court. We did not meet the parents of the girls there like we had thought. It was a very long day. We were at the lawyers office for a total of 3.5 hours with four toddlers. After that we returned to Jinja Chad and Nancy got settled in.
Sunday we went to church and were able to distribute more headbands.
Monday morning Chad, Holly, H, & L went to Kampala again. There we took care of a bunch of different paperwork. We had their passport photos taken, the girls had physicals including TB tests, and we visited the U.S. embassy. All of this is to help us get out of here as quickly as possible after court.

Church

A few of the other adopting families had some ladies come by the guest house to have their girls hair weaved. They had some of the older girls get twists in their hair. Sadie watched the ladies very closely and wanted dearly to have hers done. I asked her what color hair she wanted and of coarse she said pink. The lady said she could do pink so I figure why not. There are worst things in life than looking ridiculous. I only wanted a little pink put on the top of Sadie's hair. Sadie had a different opinion. I now have a child with bright pink hair. People already stare at the little white girl, now they are really going to stare at her. Sadie loves her pink hair, she sees herself as a beautiful pink princess.

No Words

2011-09-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to come up with the words to help you understand what is going on over the past few days. I have written and deleted many drafts of blog posts. The truth is, I just can't come up with a good way to describe the week.
This week I feel like I have experienced every emotion possible. I have had the extreme joys of meeting my children to the deepest lows of seeing other children eating trash. My heart breaks for the people here, yet everyday they are so gracious and giving to me. This week I have had many struggles, food issues, not much sleep, and major change of plans. The one thing that I seem to come back to is how blessed my family is. These little girls have truely blessed Sadie and I this week. I feel blessed to get to come on this adventure to the other side of the world and learn just how fortunate I really am. I am blessed to have met the other adopting families and the staff at the apartment.
I recently heard news that Chad, Nolen, and Nancy will be here in a few days. I am so relieved to get some reinforcements. Chad was not supposed to be here for about another week. But the Lord knew what I needed. Matthew 6:8 ". . . The Father knows what you need before you ask him."

When I look at my daughter I can't help but think of James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting.

Wednesday: Hanging Around

2011-09-14T12:31:00.000-05:00

It is Wednesday evening here. All three little ladies are in bed pretending to be asleep. I know they are exhausted. L has a difficult time going to sleep. She is handling the stress by crying. This prevents everyone else from taking a nap. Today, H took a nap nextdoor at one of the other adopting family's apartment.
Today we stayed at the guest house all day and played. A new family arrived last night making a total of 4 families and 8 kids. The kids play outside most of the day, that is the best place to catch a breeze. The employees here completed a swing for the children to play on. This was the highlight of the afternoon for most of them.
Today I did some laundry. That is definitely a chore here. I feel guilty about complaining to Chad about my laundry closet before we came. I now appreciate it more than ever. Believe it or not laundry here is more difficult than in Russia. In Russia we had a bathtub to wash our clothes in. Here we have some platic tubs no bigger around than a pizza and about 5 inches deep. You can only wash a few items at a time and with 3 little ones it is a big chore. They do have laundry lines running behind the guest for us hang up our clothes on. For anyone traveling to Africa soon it rains a bit each afternoon so don't leave your laundry out unless you want it to have an extra rinse cycle. The plastic tubs that I use for the laundry are multifunctional. They also serve as a bathtub, dish washing tub, and a small but loved swimming pool.

Tonight for dinner we through together a potluck. Each of the adopting families brought something. We ended up with canned corn, canned mixed veggies, spaghetti noodles with tomatoes, oatmeal, baked beans, and hotdogs. It was the best meal we have had since I have been here. We plan on doing this most nights. It is much cheaper than having the guest house cook and was a bit fun. The kids had ice cream for dessert. There is something so special about watching someone have their first ice cream and first taste of chocolate )(Chad, I wish you were here for all of the firsts). It is kind of neat how you create a surrogate family here. You spend your days with them, shop with them, love on each other kids, help out with each others chores, and eat together. It is wonderful to have brothers and sisters in Christ here to help encourage me.

First Sunday in Uganda

2011-09-12T01:44:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning during breakfast the chef here asked the families if we would attend church with her. So for some crazy reason I decided to haul my crew to church. It was a Christian church. This was definitely an experience to remember and I look forward to returning next week. The service was given in Lugandan and in English. It was hard for me to understand the message but the songs I knew. We sang This is the Day Which the Lord has Made and Are God is an Awesome God. We stayed a little over an hour but were told the service lasted around 3 hours. Sadie clung to me during the service and cried anytime I tried to put her down. The chef, Evalynn, held L and a nice lady that sat behind us held H. The girls were well behaved for most of the time. I also had the opportunity to hand the first of the headbands out at church. The little girls were so proud of their new hairbows.
Last night I cooked Krafts macaroni and cheese for dinner. The 3 girls ate 2 whole boxes and L licked her plate clean. Mac n Cheese was a big hit.
I am so grateful to the other families here who have helped me out with the girls. Evalynn who works at the guest house has also been a great help. Last night I was having a difficult getting the girls to bed because L was a bit wild. S and H were tired but couldn't fall asleep because of the commotion. Evalynn came took L to the kitchen with her so I could get the others to sleep.
Today I am doing laundry. Exciting I know. Since I did not know I was getting the girls yet I did not pack clothes for them. I brought one dress for each of them. They have been wearing S's dresses and her pullups. I also did not bring any toys or medicine for them. I am definitely winging it.

Survival Mode

2011-09-10T22:47:00.000-05:00

Our second whole day in Africa and second day with girls is complete. Wow, I am tired. It is amazing how little sleep the body can fuction on when one has too. I hope to get everyone a good nights sleep tonight. It has taken Sadie a few days to flip flop her schedule around. The second night her she woke up at 3:30 am and I found myself playing barbies in the middle of the night. She has done very well considering the circumstances. She loves her sisters and is being a wonderful big sister. Her favorite part of Africa is getting to live out a princess fantasy by sleeping under a mosquito net. We are still working on the toy sharing thing.
The girls have started to come out of their shells a bit for me. Am I going to have my hands full. L is a character and full of energy. I hear her say a few words. When I feed them she says thank you and will ofter call the other one by her African name. They mostly speak to each other. What they are saying, who knows. This irritates Sadie when she is trying to play with them. At one point in the evening all the girls were running up and down the hall way screaming catch me catch me. It was awesome to see them playing and giggling together.
H is very shy. Painfully shy. When it is just us in the room I get to see her personality but if we are around large groups of people she will shut off. She loves to be held and would sit in a lap all day.
There are 2 other adopting families at the guest house with us. The children have been playing in the courtyard together. These families have been a huge help to me sense I am greatly out numbered. We went to the "grocery store" today to get some provisions. One of the other ladies went with me to help me hold babies. We have been eating the breakfast served at the guest house. The lady here has also been cooking us dinner since I don't think restraunts are in my future for at least a year. The meals are simple and carb loaded.
The sweetest moment of the day was when I heard H&L call me mama. Precious.

Change Of Plans

2011-09-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

Wow has life changed in 3 days. Three days ago I was in Tennesse, sitting in air conditioning, and trying to plan how this adventure was going to take place. Wow, God did not like my plans. He really through me a curve ball. To explain the drastic change that has occured I will start with the beginning of our trip here.
The first plane we were to catch out of Nashville was cancelled (this should of been a sign of things to come). Sadie and I had to take a different path around the world than expected. The orginal route was Nashville to New York, to Amsterdam, to Entebbe Uganda. This is how we came: Nashville to Detroit, to Amsterdam, to Rwanda, and then to Entebbe Uganda. Sadie was wonderful on the planes. I could not have asked for much more considering how we were traveling. Since our flights got all messed up we did not get the nice window seats we originally reserved. I owe a bit of apologies to the Ugandan man that had to spend most of 10 hours with coke spilled in his lap and the legs of a sleeping 4 year old on him. Anyways it was entertaining and made for some memories. Photos will soon follow.
After we landed in Entebbe we drove to the next largest city, Kampala which is the capital. We spent the night there at a nice but modest guest house. We went to sleep around 1:00 am and Sadie woke me up a little after 6.  Apparently, there was a chicken coop outside our window and the roosters started crowing a little after 6. We ate breakfast at the guest house.
Our driver then came to pick us up and drive us around Kampala to do some business.   I purchased a sim card for my phone and a modem for the computer. I also exchanged some money. Around noon we began our car ride toward Jinja. Jinja is the town where the baby home is. The ride took several hours. Sadie road in my lap because she wanted see out the window. It was wonderfull to see the country during the drive but a bit of culture shock as well. Sadie kept saying look mom a lady with bananas on her head.
Once we arrived in Jinja we checked into the apartment which is our new home for the next few weeks. It is nice with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. This is where things begin to do a backflip for me.
The original plan was for the girls to stay at the baby house and for us to visit them daily until after court. We would gain custody of them and bring them to the apartment in early October after Chad arrived.
Wow what a good plan, God did not think so. If I must add at this point I have had approximately 10 hours of sleep in the past 3 days and some of the details are a bit fuzzy. I will regret that later but that is just how it is. After we were in the apartment a half hour Sadie was settling in well, unpacking, and finding all of the treats I had brought for her. A lady that works for our adoption agency came by and said we will go get the girls in an hour.   GO GET THE GIRLS. Wait. What. It had been requested by someone unknown to me that I obtain immediate custody and by immediate I mean NOW. So within alone being at our final destination for 2 hours I had the girls. We went to the baby house to pick them up. Had a very short introduction, changed their clothes, and off we went.
So, as I sit here and write this there are three little girls in the other room all asleep in the same bed. Not what was expected but far sweeter than I could ever imagine.
For the first few hours we all sat around and looked at each other. Sadie and I were both in this stunned, sleep deprived state, yet somehow able to remain composed. The girls are overwhelmed and that shows. They are starting to warm up with us. Sadie has shared all of her toys with them. Then the power went out. And we sat in the dark for a few hours. Around 8:30pm the electricity came back on and the lady that runs the guest house cooked us some dinner. It was wonderful we ate 2 whole plates of fried chicken and fries. Comfort food was just what we need. The girls ate with these huge smiles on their faces. Shortly after dinner I was able to get them to go to sleep. I think them going to bed easy was a Gift God gave me today.
Anyways, I am exhausted and I am sure tomorrow will be another adventure. More to come.

The Plan

2011-09-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

As the big day approaches our house has become total chaos. I was blessed yesterday by some amazing ladies from our church. They spent most of yesterday at our home packing us. I am so grateful to have an organized person come in and pack my bags. I have been a bit overwhelmed, so this was a wonderful gift. As we got started packing the kids got crazy. Kids can just sense disorder and then they take it to the next level. At one point both of the kids were lying in suitcases and had packed their most valuable possessions with them. I of coarse was unable to locate a camera in the craziness to get a photo. I think in all, including Chad, Nolen, and Nancy, we will have 7 large suitcase, 3 carry-ons, 6 backpacks, and 2 umbrella strollers.

In the morning we will head to the Nashville airport with some friends. There is a couple here whose flight leaves just before mine. They are going to visit some family. We are going to give them a ride to the airport with us and they are going to assist me through the check in procedures.

Our flights are Nashville to JFK in New York. We then go to Amsterdam and onto Entebbe, Uganda. Our flight in Uganda lands at 10:00 at night. Once we land in Uganda we will drive to Kampala and spend the night. The next day we will get up and take a several hour car ride to Jinja. We leave Wednesday morning and will make it to our final destination sometime on Friday. Please pray for safe travels during this time.

Beginning to Pack

2011-09-01T09:29:00.000-05:00

With less than one week left before myself and Sadie leave for Africa our house has become a bit crazy. I am trying to pack for us and get everything ready for Chad, Nolen, and Nancy's trip. The things you need to take when you are going to Africa for 7 weeks with four toddlers is just a bit much for me to wrap my mind around. I am also finding it difficult to find a place to put all this stuff to keep the kids and dogs out of it. Normally when getting ready for a trip I make a list of things to take and things to do. For this trip a list just will not do. I have a binder. Yes an entire binder of things to take care of before leaving and things not to forget to pack.
It is like trying to get ready to have twins. I have been told that this is a feat in itself. However, add to it the fact that we are preparing to spend 2 months in an underdeveloped country with 4 toddlers. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

Blessed

2011-08-26T09:10:00.002-05:00

This week God blessed us through our family and friends. A few of my friends had asked me if I would like a baby shower or something similar. I told them no on several occasions. Apparently they really wanted to do something and knew how much of a blessing it would be. They knew me well enough to know that it had to be a surprise if they were going to get me to attend. They did not even tell Chad.

The evening was spent with a wonderful meal and fellowship. The evening ended with a heartfelt prayer session for our trip. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family of friends here. A few of them brought blessings of diapers and wipes. I was also given several cards of encouragement that we will carry with us. Mrs. Misti also organized a calendar of meals for us upon our return. THANK YOU

Trying To complete Unfinished Projects

2011-08-23T08:09:00.000-05:00

With just 2 weeks before Sadie and I leave things are starting to get a bit crazy. I am known to take on a large amount of projects. I am even better at not finishing them. Since I find it hard to complete my crazy projects with two kids I am sure I will find it nearly impossible to finish anything with four toddlers running around. At least that is what I am going to use as my excuse. Lately my projects have been a combination of crafting and reorganizing. I am trying to figure out just how our little house is going to hold our large family. I am getting creative with storage ideas. Chad recently renovated our laundry closet to provide me with some storage and a folding counter. This is just a closet under the stairs, in the hallway.
I finally finished painting the stencil on my bathroom ceiling. This turned out beautiful but took quite a bit of time. I also made stuffed animal bean bags for the kids. These are just fabric and mesh bags that hold all of the kids stuffed animals. They double as a bean bag or seat.

To My Lovies

2011-08-21T22:34:00.000-05:00

It sounds crazy to think I have never met you but I know you.
I have never hugged or kissed you but oh how I love you.
We speak different languages but I am your voice.
We look completely different but you have my heart.
You did not grow in my belly but in my heart.
When you are sick, I am upset.
When you are happy it brings joy to my heart.

The only way in this crazy world this is possible is because of our God. He created you for me. When you were made a world away you were designed to complete our family.

Sick Babies, Upset Momma

2011-08-15T23:24:00.000-05:00

As a mother one of the last things I want to experience is a sick child. It is even worse when you can't be the one there to hold and comfort them. Yesterday we received an update saying that the girls have been sick. They both have malaria and dysentery. The girls have been to a clinic and are receiving treatment. I owe much thanks to those responsible for their medical care. We are told they are doing much better and are back at the baby home being loved on. Oh how I wish it were me loving on them. Just 3 more weeks girls, momma is coming.
Malaria is a parasite that reproduces in our red blood cells. It is spread by mosquitos. To help protect us against this disease while in Africa we will be taking malaria pills before, during, and after our trip. We will also be sleeping under mosquito nets to protect us from being bitten. It is seen widespread in sub saharan Africa. It causes fever and vomiting. Dysentery is inflammation of the intestines. It also causes fever and diarrhea. These are both illnesses that are common in this part of the world. Both can be very serious if not treated.
Please pray for the girls as they are recovering. Please pray for their strength to return for they have quite the journey ahead of them.

How This Works In the Legal System

2011-08-08T08:27:00.000-05:00

I apologize for a lack of post lately. I have found myself a bit distracted with all that is going on. Chad and I are trying to complete some unfinished projects around the house. I have had a few small honey do's to be done before our trip. I feel like if they aren't done before we go they will never be done. Maybe this is just part of our nesting.
I have been trying to get somethings in line for when the girls come home. When we bring the girls home Chad and I will only have guardianship of them. This is much different than it was with Nolen. Nolen's adoption was finalized in Russia and when he came home it was under his new name. He also became a US citizen upon entry into the USA. Due to a difference in adoption laws this will not be the case with H & L. We will be their legal guardians and they will come home legally with their Ugandan names. They also will not become US citizens immediately. In order for their adoption to become finalized we must file in a US court. This process should not be too complicated and is mostly the submitting of legal paperwork. The one thing about this process that is stressful to me is time. In order to file on our taxes for our adoption tax credit in April the adoption must be finalized in 2011. We will only have two months after we get home to get through the US court system. A specific prayer request for our family is that we are able to complete the adoption finalization before the end of the year.

Its Hot, Put the Crock Pot Outside

2011-08-01T09:22:00.001-05:00

I do not know what the weather is like where you are at but here in middle Tennessee it is very hot. We have been having those days where you break out in a full sweat just walking to the mailbox to pick up your mail. Everybody is sweaty and stinky and that is just part of life right now. I think God is trying to adjust our bodies to the temperature for when we are in Africa. I guess now all I need to finish the adjustment is turn of the AC and hot water heater. But I think I will enjoy those up until the last minute.
When it is this hot outside the last thing I want to do is cook in my kitchen. Using the oven just makes the house hot and waste all that hard earned money spent on AC. During this weather we do cook two ways: on the grill and in the crock pot. I know most people save their crock pots for winter soups and stews but mine gets most its working done in the summer when it is hot. I do not like to use the crock pot in my kitchen because then all it does is put heat into my house for eight hours. Instead I put it on a shelf in my garage. Yes that is right if you walked in my garage right now you would smell brownies cooking. Crazy I know. I love brownies but who wants to run the oven for 45 minutes in this temperature. Yes, you can bake in your crock pot.
Check out a few of the statistics that I found online about how much energy your crock pot saves. Not only does it cost much less to run but by using it outside you keep the heat out of your house.

Exciting Times: Plane Tickets Bought

2011-07-21T07:35:00.000-05:00

We have finally purchased plane tickets. Having a ticket and a departure date makes this all seem real. Holly and Sadie will be leaving from Nashville on September 7th. Then, Chad, Nancy, and Nolen will be leaving from Nashville on September 19th. We have scheduled to be flying home on October 21st. However, our return home date is just a guess because we really don't know how long things will take. This date will more than likely change as we progress in the process.
While purchasing plane tickets we were having a bit of sticker shock. Five tickets to Africa don't exactly come cheap. On Tuesday night Chad and I were having a conversation about paying for this adoption. Our goal all along has been to have a debt free adoption. When seeing the price of airfare and other things I started to doubt if this was even possible. But my God is faithful and his plan is perfect. When Chad and I have reached difficult times throughout this process financial and others we have said that this is what God has told us to do and he will direct us. That he did this week. The day after having airfare sticker shock we received a letter from an organization called Show Hope. It was informing us that we had received and adoption grant. Overwhelmed. That is what I was. Overwhelmed by His Glory, Faithfulness, and Love. It has been amazing to see just how God has provided and met all of our families needs. To Him be the Glory for this.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4: 19-20

As soon as one prayer request is answered another arises. We were not able to purchase tickets for the girls on the flight home. This is because we do not know their birthdays, something needed to buy plane tickets. We know they are around 2 years of age. If they turn 2 after we arrive home we will not need to purchase them their own seat. We can just purchase them a lap seat which is what we did with Nolen. A lap ticket is about $1,000 cheaper than a regular airplane ticket home. The way it is now if they turn 2 in Africa we will have to purchase them last minute one way tickets. Our prayer is that we will know when their birthdays are so we can make this decision not at the last minute. Financially it would be great if they didn't have their birthday until we got home.

If you "like" Show Hope's Facebook page during the month of July an anonymous donor will donate $1 to orphan care and adoption aid.

What will I say?

2011-07-18T08:43:00.000-05:00

I have been told that there is great chance that I will get to spend some time with the birthparents of the girls. What does one say to the birthparents of their children. I have been trying to prepare myself for this but I am not sure that this is something that I can prepare myself for. Thank you just does not seem to do it justice. As a person who feels like they sometimes stick their foot in their mouth when speaking I am afraid to say too much. I am also scared of breaking some type of Ugandan social norms which I have no knowledge of. So what does one do? I feel like words are just words and nothing more. I show my faith and beliefs by what I do. Sometimes I should show my emotions by what I do.
When first told about the possible meeting with the girls birth mother I began to pray and look for examples of showing thanks and humility in the Bible. One example repeats itself several times. Foot washing. This is used in the Bible to show the greatest servitude and humility. I am not sure if I will receive the opportunity to actually do this so please pray that God will provide Chad and I with the appropriate words to use during this special meeting.

WE HAVE COURT DATE

2011-07-11T13:53:00.001-05:00

I am going to make this short and sweet. We have a court on September 26. YEAH!! This means that Sadie and I will be leaving early September. More to come.

Honored to be in an Article

2011-07-06T07:19:00.000-05:00

Last week I received an email from Chad telling me about an article he saw on Linked In. It is written by a friend here in TN that writes articles for an online journal. I am honored that someone would write about our family decisions with such a positive view. I feel like I am constantly making the wrong decisions so thank you Jack for the encouragement. You can read the article here. Jack serves as a life coach in the Spring Hill community. You can read about his work from his website www.redwoodcoach.com.

I apologize for not posting much lately. I have been a bit busy. This weekend we went to Memphis and had a joint birthday party for our kids and our niece. A birthday party for a 2, 3, and 4 year old is a bit crazy. When at home an abundance of our time has been spent working in the garden. I will write more about that in a few days.
Please continue to pray for our process. We would love to hear from the courts before they close on July 15. A court date would be awesome. We should also hear these week from Show Hope about a grant we have applied for.

Adoption Update: Paperwork at Court

2011-06-30T12:09:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for your prayers for the situation that arose. The documents have been signed and submitted to court. We are so excited for the progress. Our God is good and has answered our prayers. Our prayer now is for a court date before the courts take their break. If we could hear a date before July 15 we could purchase plane tickets with a bit of a notice therefore tickets would be cheaper.

Hurry Up and Wait

2011-06-28T16:32:00.000-05:00

That is the best way to explain adoption. Any of you who have experienced adoption know this. During an adoption you will go through periods of pure craziness and periods of nothingness. The craziness happens when you are collecting paperwork and preparing to travel. The nothingness happens when waiting for a referral or to travel. With the adoption of Nolen we waited for almost 18 months and then one day out of the blue the phone rang and we began our hurry up time.
Right now God has told us to wait. We are still adopting the twins, however it appears it will be the fall before we are able to travel to bring them home. Why this is so I do not fully understand and what I do understand I can't tell you. What I do know for sure is that God is at work. He is preparing the girls and our family for our union. Even though all of this waiting is difficult there are some aspects that are good. Hopefully traveling in the fall will mean airfare will decrease. Also, every month we wait is another month we have to save to be able to pay for the adoption. However, I long to see my daughters more than I can explain.
What can you do for us during this time? The only thing right now you can do is pray for a specific situation that needs to work out.

I have been seeking comfort in James 1: 2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that yo may be mature and compete, not lacking anything.

Guest Blogger

2011-06-19T16:50:00.001-05:00

One of my blogs has been chosen to be used in a guest blogger link of the well know adoption website my crazy adoption. I am not exactly sure which post was chosen so go over there and check it. It will be featured on Monday, June 20 and another on June 24.
This website is a wonderful resource for families who are in any way part of adoption.

PLEASE KEEP VOTING. There are only 2 days left to vote. Vote by clicking on the link to the top right of the blog. Then click on the orange thumb next to our blog.

Adoption Update: Hopefully we will hear this week that the documents have been submitted to the courts in Kampala. There should be no more hang ups. We got to see a bunch of photos of Hadley and Liana this weekend. They look like they are happy and enjoying themselves. If you would like the link to see all that is going on at the baby house just send me a message and I will forward it to you. The home where the girls live is part of an organization that also has a primary school and runs community outreach. There are multiple ways for people to help them listed on their website if you are interested. This week the school has a group of volunteers helping them. Some of the pictures showed the volunteers playing and loving on our girls. It is good to know that someone is loving on them.

Adoption Update

2011-06-16T21:14:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately we are still in Tennessee. We thought we would be in Africa or on our way home by now. But God has had different plans. We have had a slight hold up with one document. There was one item wrong on a document. This one thing took almost a month to get corrected (a little frustrating). Yesterday Chad and I sent back a signed and notarized copy of the corrected document. Hopefully now things will finally move a bit. Unfortunately courts close on July 15 until August 15 for a month long vacation. If we do not have court before the close we will be here at least until August, bummer.

The judges have also changed their expectations a bit. They are now requesting that at least one parent have a bonding period with the children for a couple of weeks prior to the court date. This bonding period is very important for the children and parents. We had several weeks of bonding with Nolen before his final court. These weeks were hard because they required us to be in Russia for a long period of time and away from Sadie. However, the time was very good for Nolen to get used to us and get to know us. Therefore, one of us will travel to Uganda before court to have a bonding time. That person of course will be me (Holly) since Chad needs to work as much as possible. I will probably take Sadie with me for the bonding period.

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality he will give eternal life. Romans 2:7

Note to Self: Don't Eat The Yams

2011-06-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

Some of my close friends have gotten a joy about teasing me. They say when we complete this adoption and believe our family is full we will get pregnant. This sounds funny to some but is scary to me. One of the couples we were with in Russia found out they were pregnant while in Russia adopting their second child. I know my God will not give me more than I can handle but I think 4 toddlers at once is pushing it.
The baby home where are daughters live has three sets of twins and one set of triplets. I recently learned that West Africa has the highest rate of multiple births in the world. This got my inquisitive mind running and I started to do a bit of research. I found that the high multiple rate is because of genetics and YAMS. YAMS? Yes, apparently there is a type of yam that is a staple in West African nations. This particular yam contains a chemical that mimics female hormones. It is thought to increase ovulation in women. Crazy, I know.
While in Russia I ate a lot of potatoes. Potato was a word I could pronounce and it was relatively "safe." I sure hope I can find something else to eat in Uganda than Yams.

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New Clothes/ New Hair This Weekend

2011-06-14T08:45:00.000-05:00

This weekend a set of adorable matching outfits arrived at my doorstep. Thank you to Penny, Courtney, and Katie for making these precious outfits. I can't wait until I can see all of the Stewart kids in them. You can view other creations by Penny at her facebook page Designs by Penny.

This weekend I also got my locks cut off. For the third time I donated my hair to Locks of Love. This is an organization that takes hair donations of 10 inches or longer and makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to childhood illnesses. When you donate your hair there are numerous hair salons that will give you a hair cut for free, just an added bonus. Cutting my hair was just another step in getting ready for Africa. We have been told to expect unreliable electricity and hot water. Therefore, long just wasn't going to work. I think I am going to leave Sadie's long and have someone braid it when we get there.

Prayer Wall

2011-06-11T08:33:00.000-05:00

Please follow our prayer journal on the new prayer wall tab. You can use this space to share your encouragement and prayers to us. We will also use this to share with you our prayer request.
Right now airfare is a huge prayer request. When I priced airline tickets in May they were approximately $1,200 each. Now they are $2,500 each. Ouch. We really need the prices to go back down. Remember there are 5 of us going and 7 of us coming home. That is a lot of money in plane tickets.

What's easier: Bringing Home a Newborn or Toddler

2011-06-09T22:29:00.000-05:00

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I have been blessed to have experienced both. We brought our daughter Sadie home from the hospital at four days old and our son Nolen home from Russia at 17 months. Which one is easier? The answer might surprise many of you who have had a newborn in your home but bringing Sadie home was much easier. The first two months with Sadie were significantly easier than the first two months with Nolen.
Sadie was born a few weeks early and weighed 5 lbs when we brought her home. The first time she slept all night long was when she was 7 weeks old. She slept with bilirubin lights on her to help with jaundice. She also was not able to suck yet due to being premie. Therefore, she had to be feed using a dropper every 1.5 hours. I also spent the first few weeks of this time recovering from a c-section. However, she was still much easier than bringing home an adopted toddler.

Welcoming a toddler into your home is so different than bringing home a baby. With a baby you are responsible for taking care of their basic needs but they don't yet know exactly what they want. Bringing home a toddler is a guessing game. You have this child that knows exactly what they want and you don't get it. It is difficult to understand what a child wants when the speak a different language and then throw in the fact that it is also baby talk. A mother who just gave birth to a child usually has the ability to console their baby when they are upset. This is not the case with a newly adopted toddler. Bedtime is very difficult at first. The child does not have a comfort item, does not recognize the bed, and is often not used to being rocked or held. Because of this calming Nolen down for the night was very difficult at first. Add a severe case of jet lag to this and I think we slept less with him than we did when Sadie was a baby. I am telling you this so you can please be patient if I seem a bit grumpy when we first arrive back home. Please remember that we are welcoming 2 new children into are home and even though they are not babies it is still very difficult.

What To Expect When We Come Home

2011-06-09T08:25:00.001-05:00

I know this is a little premature but I was asked to write about this. When we brought Nolen home I did a poor job of preparing our friends for what to expect so here it is. This might seem crazy and extreme but please bear with us during this time. Please ask any questions you might have about the process.
We are advocates of attachment parenting our children. A child who has been institutionalized (in orphanage care) or who has had an unstable life can have difficulty attaching to their adoptive parents when the arrive in their permanent home. To help build this bond a style of parenting called attachment parenting has become common in many adoptive homes. This basically serves to promote as much of a bond as possible with the child and parents. In order to do this other people in our life will feel left out. We will do our best for at least 6 weeks to have only Chad or myself hold H and L. We will be the ones to meet their basic needs including providing food and changing diapers. During this time the girls will always be with one of us. For example when we brought Nolen home, instead of sticking him in the nursery on Sunday morning one of us stayed and played with him in the nursery.
If you are fortunate to see us out on one of our few outings please remember these things. The girls will more than likely reach for you but you can't hold them. You may talk to them but please do not pick them up. When we brought Nolen home it was difficult for people to no want to pick him up. He would reach up to everyone and smile with those precious dimples. He craved attention from anyone that would give it to him, a skill he learned in Russia. However, once he was placed in our family we needed to teach him we were his Mommy and Daddy. We needed to be the ones to meet his needs. If you do get to see our family in the first few weeks back please make special note to Sadie and Nolen. I am sure they are going to be craving attention also.
Why we will become recluses? I will use our little man for this example. Imagine you spent 17 months of your life in a baby bed. In a dark room with little noise and no stimulation. Now can you imagine what it was like for him to go from that environment to a Kroger or a Super Target. Extremely over stimulating, scary, and very overwhelming. We are not exactly sure of what life is currently like for the girls. I know they are not spending all of their days in a baby bed but I do expect them to be very overwhelmed with their new life. To help with a better and less scary transition we will as slowly as possible introduce them to their new life. Since they will stay at our home most of the time and we will stay with them; we will become recluses. We would love visitors at this time because Chad and I will need some adult interaction. I will repost this when we are about to bring the girls home.

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Dossier??

2011-06-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

What is a dossier? This is a term that you hear a lot in the world of adoption. A dossier is the large group of documents that describe the adopting family. The documents are gathered and submitted to foreign courts. This bundle of documents is very large and contains more information about yourself and your family than you knew existed. Every country has their own requirements for dossiers. For example the Russian dossier for Nolen was hundreds of pages in length. Russia wanted multiple copies of everything. The Uganda dossier for the girls only requires one copy of the documents. Before the documents were sent to Russia they were notarized, county certified, and state apostilled. I was very excited when we found out the documents for Uganda only required notarizing.
Here is an example of some of the items you will find in an international adoption dossier:
Marriage Certificates
Birth Certificates
Divorce Certificates (if applicable)
Passport Copies
Citizenship and Immigration Approval Letter
Employment Verification Letter
FBI fingerprint background checks
Sex Offender registry background checks
Child Abuse registry background checks
Medical Evaluations For all family members & License of Dr. providing the evaluation
Psychological Evaluations & copy of Dr. license
Financial Statements prepared by a CPA including supporting data & copy of CPA's license
Letters from your mortgage company
Power of Attorney
Home Study
The home study is a document that is prepared for your family by a licensed social worker. This best way to describe this is a biography of your family. There is a separate set of documents that are needed for the home study. Those include:
Medical Evaluations (We even had to have letters saying our dogs were up to date on their vaccines)
Complete Background Checks
Financial Statements including supporting Data
Letters of Recommendation for friends and family
Employment Verification Letters

It takes the average family 3 to 6 months to collect all of the documents for their dossier. It took us almost 6 months to complete Nolen's. The girls was done in about a month.

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Inconvienent

2011-06-06T08:01:00.000-05:00

How can you leave the country for 4 to 8 weeks. Isn't that such an inconvenience. I can't imagine leaving my home, family, job, and church for so long. We would love to do international adoption but just can't fit that into our schedule.
Wow, I can not count how many times I have heard this over the last few months.
Honestly leaving the country for this amount of time was not in MY plans. But it is in God's plans and we choose to obey Him. I choose not to look at this long journey ahead as an inconvenience to my plans but has a whole new path to follow. My Jesus died for me and I feel like the least I can do is change my plans for Him. Aren't you glad Jesus went through with the inconveniences he faced in his life. Who are we to say, "that just doesn't work in my life right now."

This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome). 1 John 5:3

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Vote For Our Blog

2011-06-02T22:16:00.001-05:00

The Circle of Moms website is hosting a contest to determine the top 25 adoption blogs. The top blogs will be featured in an upcoming article. They have approximately 6 million moms in their network so it is kind of a big deal. You can vote once a day. Get Voting.
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Successful Shopping Trip

2011-06-01T23:10:00.000-05:00

Wednesday I had the pleasure of grocery shopping by myself. I know I am old when that is all it takes to get me excited. But it is amazing how easy it is to grocery shop without my little helpers. I owe a huge thank you to Mrs. Misti and Ms. Heather for keeping the kids cool in the pool while I had my mommy outing. I went to Publix with a specific list. I bought their bogo's with many coupons. Check out how I did.

I purchased 30 items shown in the picture for a total of $7.92. With discounts and coupons I saved $50.61.

The Process

2011-05-31T08:17:00.000-05:00

The process of adopting from Uganda is much different than that of Russia. I hope some of this will help explain why we will remain in Uganda for several weeks.
When we began looking to adopt again we started with our paperwork. This time around our paperwork was much less than with Nolen's adoption. We had to have most of the documents updated but we were not starting from scratch. This took us less than 2 weeks. When bringing our little man home it took us almost 6 months to acquire all of the paperwork. After this we received a referral.
A referral is a bunch of information and pictures about the child you might want to adopt. This includes things like family history and medical history. Based on the information that is received over the phone and internet you must make the decision to adopt this child or not, if you decide to pursue adoption it is known as accepting a referral. When we adopted Nolen we accepted his referral in person, this was the point of our first trip to Russia. Once you say yes the paper craziness continues. We had to complete a few more documents on our end. We hired an attorney in Uganda to collect the paperwork for our little girls. Gathering their documents in Uganda took a bit of time. We are told this is normal due to travel in Uganda not being the easiest (something to look forward too). After all the paperwork is completed it is submitted to court (where our paperwork is now). The group of documents is called a dossier. Once it is at the court it will be assigned a judge and then the judge will put you on his schedule.
When we receive word that we have a court date we will go.
Once in Uganda we will go and have our first meeting with our daughters. The girls live in a town approximately a 1.5 hour car ride from the airport. We will not meet them until at least the second day there.
Then we will go to court. At court the judge will grant Chad and I legal guardianship over the girls. We will not finalize their adoption in Uganda. In Russia we completed the entire adoption there. This time we will be gaining guardianship in Uganda and finalizing the adoption in the USA. This is because of the way Uganda law is written. When we attend court it will hopefully only take a week for the judge to make his final decision. When we receive the final court decree we can apply for the girls passports.

Part of Nolen's Russia Dossier

After receiving passports we will travel to Kampala where the USA embassy is located there. It will take about a week for the embassy to do their thing. They will provide us with the immigrant visas in the girls passports that are required for them to enter the United States. And then we come home.

Stuck!!

2011-05-27T08:10:00.000-05:00

Stuck!! Afraid to make plans. Afraid to go on vacation. Afraid to buy too many groceries at the grocery store. Stuck!!
That is what we are feeling. I wanted so much to be holding my precious babies right now. I wanted to see my family of six complete. I wanted to hear the sweetest words to an adopting mom, "mommy." But, God's timing is perfect. It is hard to understand but I know it is true. Time and time again throughout my life I have learned that God makes you wait for things for a reason. I keep telling myself this but it really doesn't make it much easier. Being stuck stinks.
When we adopted Nolen we were not expecting the phone call. We thought we had about another year before we would travel. Out of the blue I got a phone call saying we were leaving in 13 days. I think this method was much easier than having a picture to stare at for months. During Nolen's adoption we did not have time to wait much. We only had 13 days to prepare our family to travel around the world. We were busy. We ran around like crazy. We were tired at night.
How does this compare? I have a photo this time. I have many photos this time. I have watched my daughters go swimming at the community pool. I have seen them have an Easter dinner. Seen them have an Easter Egg hunt. I have heard stories about them and their friends. I have heard from different volunteers at the baby home about how loving they have been. When seeing these photos and hearing these stories one thing is missing. ME. I am not the one they are loving on, I am not the one cooking them holiday meals. THIS IS SO HARD. Please continue to pray for our family as we wait.
I actually think having the photos and seeing the girls has been much harder than the way it was with Nolen. Much Harder.

Adoptive Mothers Nest Too!

2011-05-23T22:02:00.000-05:00

I am nesting. Sounds crazy I know. I do not have the hormones that pregnant women experience which are sometimes responsible for "nesting." But they are not needed. My body knows that it is "giving birth" to new children.
Nesting is the urge women who are expecting feel before they give birth. They commonly clean the house from top to bottom, reorganize everything, and prepare the babies room. Yep, thats happening here. I am lacking on the cleaning part but I am definitely reorganizing. Or better yet I am organizing for the first time. I think some of my nesting is me preparing my home to be empty for four to six weeks. We are eating what food we have and cleaning out the pantry. Much to my husbands disapproval the refrigerator is almost empty. I am trying to get all of my "household business" taken care of. I know, Heather, the lady who is responsible for things while we are away will be grateful that I get as much done as possible.
I have cleaned out the closets and toy box. The only thing left to tackle are the kitchen cabinets. To be honest I probably will avoid this task as much as possible.
Along with preparing the physical environment and adoptive mom must begin to prepare her heart.
My hope is that my nesting means that it is almost time.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27

Please excuse me, I have to go my refrigerator is calling my name.

Yard Sale Success!!

2011-05-22T20:39:00.000-05:00

This weekend we had our yard sale. I must say it was a huge success. I never knew how much work a yard sale was but oh my it was a lot. We were all exhausted when it was over with. Thank you so much to Nancy and Heather for helping with the sale. I also send my thanks to all of those who donated items for us to sale.
I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of our community. We had approximately a dozen families from the area that also have adopted children that came by to show their support. Many of them whom we have never met donated items for us to sale. It was a wonderful way to connect with families in Spring Hill. I had someone I have never seen before make donations to the yard sale and pray over my family. Throughout the sale I found myself overwhelmed by how awesome is our God. On Friday by noon we had sold approximately half of the items we had. A truck pulled up and asked if they could bring some things to the sale. This family donated two truck loads to our sale. Every time it felt like we were getting low on things to sale we would have more donations. God really provided for us this weekend. We raised $935 dollars for our adoption. Amazing.
Toward the end of the sale on Saturday we found out about another adoption yard sale next weekend for another family in the area. We will be collecting the few items we did not sale and taking them to this yard sale. Hopefully they can bless another family.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19

Meet the Chickens!!

2011-05-19T08:43:00.000-05:00

Yes, we have chickens. We have three of the most child tolerant chickens I have ever met. We let Sadie name them, so naturally their names are Cinderellie, Snow White, and Tinkerbell. Our three hens provide us each with an egg a day. Thats 3 eggs a day and 90 a month. They eat most of our food scraps, preventing us from wasting food.
We love our chickens. I think they are some of the best pets. They take our waste and make us something we can eat. As I mentioned above they are child tolerant. They will let our children pick them up, carry them around, and pet them. Sadie frequently gives Tinkerbell a ride in her cozy coupe car. Fortunately, the kids have not made the connection between the chicken we eat and the chicken we have as pets.
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to eat the eggs while we are away.

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY FOR YARD SALE DONATIONS.

Why We Obey

2011-05-16T23:34:00.001-05:00

I hope you know this by now but just in case you did not my family and I are evangelical Christians. We believe in salvation through faith in Jesus. We have recently been studying Galatians on Sunday mornings with our church family. Studying this book caused me to look at the motives for why I do what I do. This time of reflections has led me to ask why are we adopting? I have said and still believe that we are expanding our family through adoption because that is what God has planned for us. We feel like the greatest act of worship we have is to obey Him. But why do we obey Him?
Our faith guides our life. Chad and I do not believe that adoption is a good work that will lead to our salvation. We know that we are already saved from our sins because of our faith in Jesus. Our obedience follows our salvation. We are obedient because we love Him. I hope this provides some insight into why are family seems a bit different. Well, probably a lot different. We have chosen to live our life following Jesus and His plan for us. This path seems crazy and unconventional but it is the only path for us.
Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Garage Sale This Weekend!

2011-05-15T22:50:00.000-05:00

This weekend we will be having a garage sale. The sale will be on Friday and Saturday from 7-2. If anyone would like to donate items to be sold please let me know and we can arrange a time for us to receive them.
The sale will serve two purposes for us. It will be our last fundraiser to help us bring Hadley and Liana home. It will also help us to clean out our full home. We are trying to empty out the attic of our home. Our home has an unfinished upstairs that will need to be completed when we have four kids. In order to be able to "enlarge our tent" we need to do some spring cleaning.
Isaiah 54: 2-3

Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.

Flowers Are Done!!!

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

I have finally finished making all of the flower headbands to take with us to Jinja. Yeah!!! This was the last big item on my list that I needed to complete before we are ready to go. We are excited to get to distribute all of these flowers. We hope to bless many princesses. Thank you to all of you for purchasing flowers and for donating the supplies needed to make them.

"Don't all babies come from Russia, Mommy?"

2011-05-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

Having the talk about where babies come from is probably awkward for most mothers. However, when you throw adoption into the mix it becomes very complicated. Until recently Sadie had the concept that babies came from Russia. It was kinda cute and innocent. I found going along with this idea to be the easy way out. We have now come to the point where she is realizing that all babies do not come to Russia.
This topic has come about because of the talk about getting the girls from Africa. This led to me explaining that they are coming from Africa not Russia. We were talking about how Nolen, Hadley, and Liana's mothers were unable to take care of them so Jesus chose us to be their new family. Sounds okay, right? Not to a three year old. Sadie then wanted to know where she was from, Russia or Africa? After explaining to her that Jesus placed her in my tummy to grow. She asked if I was her first mommy. I said yes, and I told her that I am her only mommy. The response that followed was not one that I expected. Immediate terror came across her precious face. She said hold me, love on me. I became a bit confused until she explained why she was so scared. Sadie told me that she did not want to have to get a new mommy like her brothers and sisters. She become scared that she is going to be adopted.
Oh my sweet Sadie, how I love you and will never leave you. If only I could get her to understand that.
As difficult as it has been to see her upset over the matter it has been a good lesson for me. This has made me think about how terrifying adoption must be for the children. Hadley and Liana do not know we exist. They do not know they will be moving to America and getting a new family. While we all have had time to prepare for their arrival they have no idea. One day a family that they have known for a short time will take them away from the home they know. Can you imagine how scary this must be?
Please keep the girls in your prayers this week. My prayer is for this transition to be as least scary as possible. I pray for comfort for them throughout this process.

I will not leave you as orphan; I will come to you.

John 14:18

Adoption Update

2011-05-08T23:19:00.000-05:00

We are basically waiting on a phone call. We are waiting to be notified by our agency that we have received a date to go to court. This date could come with very little notice so we are trying to get ready to go. We have completed all of the paperwork needed to travel. The family has also received the shots that are needed. Poor Nolen had it the worst, he had to have a total of 6 shots. This was largely due to him being behind on his normal childhood shots. He now starts to cry when we enter the doctors office.
The guest room of our home has become overtaken with operation go to Africa. This is where I am storing the items we have collected to go. If anyone comes to visit us, I am sorry but your room is currently occupied. I have gathered items of entertainment for the kids, snacks, raincoats, umbrella strollers, suitcases, diapers, wipes, and anything else you might need for four toddlers in Africa for a month. I was going to post photos but I am embarrassed by my inability to organize. Basically it is just a big pile of stuff in the middle of the room. My goal for the week is to attempt to organize the pile so I can make sure that I am not forgetting something. Nancy Stewart, Chad's mom (also known as Nanny) is also collecting items for travel. She is going to be our traveling companion for this great adventure. She has gathered the much needed items such as clothes line and pins, power adapters, hot pot, can opener, and all the other needed items for living out of a hotel room. She has been wonderful at helping me with things to pack. It is nice to have someone who is organized to keep my type b mind on track.
Below are some recent photos of the kids that have been requested.

To Whom I Can Never Repay

2011-05-05T07:54:00.000-05:00

I am sure most of you are aware that this Sunday is Mother's Day (Chad that hint is for you). Mother's day for many of you is a day to celebrate your mothers and it is this for me also. However, it also brings up some difficult topics around our house. In a way Mother's Day brings up some emotions that are not exactly joyful. When I think of Mothers I think of my amazing mom and grandmothers. I also think of how blessed I am to be the mother of four. Wow thats a lot of kids by 28. But one of the things that pops into my head is how there are two other mothers in this world who don't have their beautiful children to wake them up and call them blessed. In fact, one child will be spending the day with me. There are two other women that I owe the greatest gratitude toward and can never repay. These women are the birth mothers of my children. It is sad to say but it is sometimes easy to overlook them in our day to day life. But, this week in particular must be very difficult on a birth mother. They are mothers and have children alive in this world, who will be blessing someone else. Can you imagine?
These women are two women who I have never met, will probably never meet, and who I have the utmost respect for. When I think of things like this I also think about in the future. I know the kids will be curious about their birth parents. The one thing I want them to understand is that they were gifted(not given away) to us because of love. Their birth mothers loved them so much that they were willing to personally hurt for a long time so that their children could be raised in our family. I try to think about if I was in their circumstances could I have gifted my child to someone else? I am just not sure I am that strong of a woman. But, God did not put that in my path. He gave me the path of being an adoptive mother.
I also think about the responsibility that the mothers have given to Chad and I. They have faith that we will raise their children in a loving home. That we will bring them up to have more than they could. I sometimes wonder, am I disappointing them?

What Can One Person Do?

2011-05-03T23:15:00.001-05:00

My sweet sister sent this to me yesterday. Enjoy.

Making It Missional

2011-05-03T00:00:00.001-05:00

While Chad and I were in Russia one of the things I struggled with was time. I know while we were there we were accomplishing things, mostly adopting Nolen, but I feel like it was a bit of a waste of time. As I stated in a previous post we spent a large amount of time on facebook, farmville, skype, reading, and walking. All these were things we found to do to past the time away. What if we were able to use that time for God's kingdom? We felt stuck in Russia for many reasons one of those being language. There were 3 people we could speak to other than each other during our time there. It was also cold; it actually snowed the last day of October. During the end of the trip we stayed in the hotel room sometimes for several days in a row due to the weather and language difficulties. My goal for this trip to Uganda is to make it missional. I want us to find something to do with our time in Uganda. Our God's sense of humor shows through in this to me. The two things that I used as my excuse in Russia, weather and language, should not be a problem in Uganda. It definitely will not be cold in Africa. The town in which we are flying into actually has the equator running through town. We are also preparing to not have air conditioning. God has found a way to make us not want to be in a hotel room for weeks. Also, the official language of Uganda is English. Many of the people speak Swahili, Lugandan, or the Bantu languages but many also speak English. We will actually be able to speak to people other than ourselves. If this seems like a silly thing to be excited about try spending the next 6 weeks with only your spouse to converse with.

Snowing in Moscow

With the two main obstacles we dealt with in Russia taken out of the picture, what is going to be my excuse? I hope I do not have one or need one. Our plan is to use this trip to share the gospel with the people we meet. Unlike in Russia we will have the opportunity to visit with the workers at the orphanage, meet the caregivers, and converse with our driver and attorney. Please pray for opportunities to arise to help us make our trip as missional as possible.

Angel Food Ministry

2011-05-01T23:07:00.000-05:00

One of the things our family has sometimes done to help with the grocery bill is buy food from Angel Food Ministries. Angel Food Ministries is a wonderful option for families living on a budget. Angel food is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing food to families who need support or help keeping their grocery budget down. There are no requirements to join the program and everyone is encouraged to participate. Angel Food uses its buying power to buy items in bulk at discounted prices. They then compile several different types of food boxes that families can purchase. The boxes are sold monthly. Each of the signature boxes is approximated to feed a family of four for one week. The signature boxes cost around $30 and are valued at around $60 worth of food. Along with their signature boxes they offer several specialty boxes such as a meat box and fresh fruits and vegetables. There is no limit on how many boxes a family can purchase. Angel food boxes are sold and distributed through numerous churches. The food boxes are distributed monthly at our church, The Bridge in Spring Hill, TN. You can click on the link above to locate distribution places in your city.

Why Uganda?

2011-04-29T08:02:00.001-05:00

Many of you are curious about why Chad and I choose to adopt from Uganda. When people first began the adoption process one the first of many decisions they must make is domestic or international. There are advantages and difficulties associated with each choice. Our family has a heart for international orphans and feel like God has called us to that mission field. Domestic adoption is often for families seeking babies and who are not willing to travel. We were not interested in seeking an infant, sleeping through the night is kinda nice. We felt like the need is much greater for international adoption and few are willing to go. (This is not meant at all undermine domestic adoption).

After deciding to do an international adoption we had to decide on a country. We automatically wanted to return to Astrakhan, Russia. It quickly became apparent to us that Astrakhan is no longer participating in adoptions. In fact, Russia as a whole has become a very difficult country to adopt from. It has become more expensive, has a longer wait, the paperwork has become much more intense, and the travel is longer. Even though, I thought it would be neat if our children could share the same heritage, Russia no longer met our needs.

If not Russia what country?

When picking a country to adopt from you might think you have your pick of the whole world. The answer is actually the opposite. There are a handful of countries that work in international adoption. These countries are also known to open and close to international adoption. The countries that were possibilities for us during our first adoption were no longer available and a whole new set of countries were now our choices. You first must determine which country in which you qualify. Some of the qualifications include age, number of children in the home and number of divorces in the family. A big factor for us was age. Chad and I are under 30 years old. There are several countries that require you to be at least 30. Once you have your list of countries that you qualify for you must then pick a country that meets your needs. Some of the factors that you look at are ages and gender of children available, care of children, length of travel, program expenses, and stability of the program.

Chad and I had narrowed our list down to two countries, Ethiopia and Uganda. Neither one of these met our requirements so decided not to decided. The next day after making that decision God made it for us.

What I Want To Teach My Children

2011-04-25T23:27:00.001-05:00

I was recently writing something for an adoption organization. They asked me to write a brief essay about the most important thing I want my children to learn. Initially that seems like a difficult question. Right now I want them to learn their ABC's in the correct order, to shut the door when they enter the house, I want them to say yes ma'am and no ma'am, how to drink out of a cup without spilling it, and I would love it if they could learn how to buckle themselves into their car seats. Sounds silly, I know, but mothers of toddlers understand that these simple things have the potential to make my life a bit more pleasant. But are any of these the one thing I want my children to learn? No. When contemplating this question I remembered a piece of wall art hanging up in my grandmother's bathroom. It is one of those that someone has cross stitched a Bible verse on. The verse is in 3 John 1:4

I have no greater joy than to know that my children walk in truth.

The one thing I want for my children to learn is to love the Lord. I want them to know Him and experience how amazing His love is for us. This makes the little things like not spilling your drink seem a bit insignificant. I have been feeling this a lot lately. The aspects of normal life have been seeming non-important or even more like distractions. Have I been letting these little distractions from allowing me to show my children to love the Lord?
I was also drawn to the great commission when writing this essay. Matthew 28:19 "Go and make disciples of all nations. . ." I am supposed to be teaching my children to be disciples. The one thing I want my children to become are disciples. God has been teaching me that the most important thing I can do for my children is to show them how to be disciples of Him.

We Love Show Hope!!

2011-04-25T08:18:00.000-05:00

What is Show Hope? Show Hope is an organization founded by Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. They offer adoption aid and orphan care. They offer aid in the form of grants to Christian families who are in the adoption process. They also support orphans all over the world. They have a home in China called Mariah's Big House of Hope where they provide life-giving care for at-risk orphans living with medical conditions. Show Hope is an amazing resource for families who are adopting. We were very fortunate to qualify for a grant to bring our Nolen home two years ago. This is a great way for those who are wanting to help orphans but just don't know how to find out what they can do. Show Hope also has a store of items that they sell to help support their organization.
Nolen was recently featured in their newsletter. Check it out below.

The Caption below the photos states "To the donors of Show Hope we would like to say thank you. Our Nolen is a precious gift from God, and you helped us bring him home. Thank You." Chad and Holly Stewart welcomed home Nolen

Michael W. Smith Sings with Ugandan Childrens Choir

2011-04-22T08:43:00.000-05:00

Two Novels and A BIBLE

2011-04-20T22:57:00.001-05:00

Approximately a year and a half ago Chad and I spent 6 very long weeks in Astrakhan, Russia. What do you do for six weeks in Russia. It is easier to describe what you can't do. You can't watch television, read the newspaper, listen to the radio, go see a movie, or buy a new book to read. We did find a few things to do to pass the time. A ridiculous amount of time was spent playing this little game called Farmville, we worked a puzzle, completed two entire sudoku books, walked a lot when it was warm, and played for hours with their beautiful children. One of the things we were able to do was read. The problem with reading was that we couldn't purchase books in English there to read so we had to read what we took with us. Packing for six weeks did not leave much luggage space for books so I brought two novels and my Bible. Due to lack of things to do I read my two novels within the first three or four days. I even read one of them twice, something I do not usually do. After that Chad and I set the goal of reading the entire New Testament during our trip. It was pretty amazing to actually have the time (hours even days) to sit down and read uninterrupted. The only time I find to read uninterrupted now is late at night while I am taking a bath.
The thing that I just don't like about this story is that I did not start reading the New Testament until I was out of other options. It should of been the first thing I picked up to read. Why do we turn to God last? Why can't I just look to Him first?
I am not sure what my goals are going to be for this trip. But I know I am going to attempt to read some portion of the Old Testament. When I figure this out I will let you know and maybe some of you will read along with me.

For whatever was written in the former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4

Playing in Russian Hotel Room.

ADOPTION UPDATE: We received word yesterday that all of our paperwork and the girls paperwork is completed. There are a few more random things to be done before they can be submitted to court. We are asking for prayer for the court date. We are anxious to get to love on our daughters and are wanting the judge to assign us a court date in a timely manner.

Thrown Away Food= Thrown Away Money

2011-04-18T23:10:00.000-05:00

Did you know that the average American throws away approximately 25% of their food? Some experts even quote this number as high as 40%. Therefore, based on our monthly food cost of $350 we would waste $87.50 a month. That is $1,050 a year on food thrown out in the trash. Almost stopping food waste has been one of the things our family has used to tighten up the budget. Here are a few things our family uses to help reduce food waste.
-Save and reuse leftovers-
- Use your freezer- You can freeze unused fresh fruits and vegetables
- Don't buy more than you can eat- Many of you know I am not a fan of the discount club stores that let you buy in bulk enough food to feed your city. This goes along with knowing how much food your family eats in a meal and not cooking too much.
- Plan your meals and shop only for the things you need, avoid impulse buys
What food we do not consume is either fed to our chickens or placed in the compost bin.

YEAH TAXES!!

2011-04-17T22:02:00.001-05:00

I know many of you are saying NO our taxes are due. But many families are excited about tax refunds this year. One of the benefits of adopting is the tax benefits. It is hard to believe but Uncle Sam supports adoption. To help with the cost of adoption the IRS has a tax refund. If you adopted in the year 2010 you should receive a refund of $13,170 per child up to the cost of your adoption. This is the first year that the tax benefit has been a refund, in the past it has been a tax credit. This drastically helps reduce the burden of adoption to many families. It means you must provide this money up front to pay for your fees, but some of it will be reimbursed when you file your taxes the following year. There are also some states that offer a state tax credit, unfortunately Tennessee does not.
I have had numerous people tell me in the past that they would love to adopt but just can't afford too. The truth is you can't afford it, you are right. But, God can. I believe the adoption tax refund is one of God's many ways of providing for us that are called to be adoptive parents.
So to those of you writing a big check right now, just think you could be helping bring a baby home.

Answered Prayers

2011-04-14T21:36:00.000-05:00

Chad and I recently received an answer to prayer. In a previous post I wrote about Chad not having enough paid time off work for him to continue to get paid the whole time we are in Africa. Our prayer has been for some guidance and support in this area. Chad recently was asked to work on a job that would require him to work some overtime. Since their employees do not usually get paid for overtime the company came up with an incentive to encourage the employees to work the extra hours. For every hour of overtime he works he will earn one hour of pto. This is a wonderful blessing for our family since we are planning on being gone anywhere from 4-6 weeks. Chad currently has about 3 weeks of pto, hopefully this new plan will help increase that number.
It has been difficult having my husband work late this week. It has meant feeding Sadie and Nolen dinner by myself. Chad has been getting to work early and staying late. He is also planning on working all weekend. I am so grateful for the man God gave me. I am so thankful to him to be willing to put forth all this extra effort.
Psalms 55:22

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

Heart Breaking Statistics

2011-04-12T23:32:00.001-05:00

- There are any where from 143 million to 210 million orphans worldwide
- Half of them are in sub-saharan Africa
- 60% of sub-saharan African orphans are aids orphans
- An aids orphan doesn't necessarily have aids but is orphaned because of aids
- Only 250,000 are adopted worldwide annually
-Interesting comparison: approximately 2 million pets are adopted annually in the U.S.A.
- 34% of Christians have shown interest in adoption
- Only 1% of Christians adopt, the main reason quoted for not adopting is finances
- If 6% of all Christians adopted there would be no orphans in the world
-98.5% of all orphans do not get adopted
- The average cost of domestic adoption is $25,000 to $35,000
- International adoption cost between $30,000 to $60,000

There are many things Christians are called to do in the Bible. The most important thing Jesus tells us to do is love Him. We are then told to love each other and make disciples for him. It is also made very clear to us that we are to care for the orphans. James, Jesus's brother by Mary and Joseph, states, (James 1:27)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Last Week for T-Shirts

2011-04-12T08:15:00.000-05:00

I want to say thank you to those who have already purchased a Simply Love T-Shirt from us. This week will be the last week that we are taking orders for the shirts. If you would like one please let me know and you can buy the shirts using the paypal buttons on this site or you can order from me in person. Thank you.

I recently stopped reading the book of James and have begun to read Isaiah. While doing some research into the topic of fear this week I came across a book of scripture that caught my attention. I can't help but notice how it relates. In the book of Isaiah the prophet Isaiah is describing what he saw in a vision about Jacob. Jacob is referred to by Israel in this passage. I will only quote a few verses but please look up and read the whole chapter because context is key.

Isaiah 43:5-6

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, "Give them up!" and to the south, "Do not hold them back." Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

Things I Have Learned To Live Without

2011-04-10T23:18:00.001-05:00

While saving for our adoptions Chad and I have tried to find things to cut out of the budget. I know many people are looking for things to cut from their monthly bills. It always amazing how little people are willing to cut. Are you willing to cut your cable, internet, or cell phone? Through this journey I have learned that I really do not need all that I think I do. It is so easy in our culture to view things that are privileges as rights. We feel we have the right to many luxuries. There is not more of an eye opening experience to this than to spend some time in another country. It is amazing to look back on our time in Russia and think how did we do it. How did we spend 6 weeks without television, cell phones, clothes washing machine, dish washer, or a car?
One of the first lessons God began to teach me when we entered the adoption process with Nolen was sacrificial giving. Sacrificial giving is giving to God's ministry to the point that you are sacrificing something. I mean really something. I studied this in Luke chapter 7. In this chapter a woman anointed Jesus' feet with an alabaster jar of perfume. What we don't realize is that this jar of perfume would have cost her approximately one years worth of wages. She sacrificed one years worth of wages to worship her King. She also sacrificed to Jesus by serving him. She washed his feet and dried them with her hair. I know most of us including me think we know what sacrifice is but haven't really experienced it. Most of us have not come close to sacrificing one years worth of wages to serve the Lord.
Adoption is expensive. Adoption is time consuming. Most of know that. But I have found the sacrifices that we have had to make in order to obey our God well worth it (Have you seen Nolen). Here are a few things that Chad and I have learned that we really don't need. They having been great at helping us save money and have blessed us in other ways.

Smart Phones- I know all the cool kids have one these days. But lets face it, they are expensive. Chad and I have yet to have one of these. Yes there are times when I think one would be nice but not a necessity. The phone I have could use a little repair. But I do not see any point in getting a new phone for Sadie and Nolen to fight over. I can just imagine what a new phone would look like floating in my toilet.
Cable TV- Yes we live in the dark ages without cable television. We first cut cable in order to save money but we have been blessed by no cable TV. Blessed? You spend less time watching TV when you have nothing to watch. We find that with less television options we spend more time as a family.
Video Games- Chad and I have chosen not to get a game system. Video games are expensive and very time consuming.
Name Brand Clothing- I grew up going to a school where everyday was like a fashion show. Clothing was very important. I still love fashion but have chosen not to look at it as a financial investment. If you think about it many people spend enough money on their clothing as a financial investment. When our family splurges on new clothing it is always on sale and I usually stack multiple discounts. We are also big shoppers at children's consignment sales and the Goodwill store. (Unmentionables and shoes are bought new of course)
Dining Out- With the budget strapped tight getting ready to go to Uganda restaurants are not something we get to visit. Also, with two toddlers in tow they aren't that enjoyable.