A Change in the Journey

Hello, faithful readers!  Maybe some of you are family and friends?  Maybe some of you have adopted from Uganda as well?  Maybe some of you were wanting to adopt from Uganda, and like us, found Uganda closing it's doors, or at least making it very difficult for international adoption at this point?  Yes, that is us!

So we decided to switch gears.  We still feel a desire to grow our family through adoption, and the international adoption route has not been easy.  We felt now was the time to start pursuing domestic adoption again.  We hope to give love and a home to a new baby, a new baby who we know will fit right in with our crazy family!

Today we took the leap of faith and began the next phase as a waiting family, hoping for a match with a sweet expectant mother.  We are excited and nervous for this part of our journey, but we know it will be worth it.  We still have lots of paperwork to do, like a new homestudy and creating a profile book, so we don't know how long this process will take.

Thanks for sticking with us, and we still covet your prayers!  This will not be an easy journey from here on out.  There may still be complications, bumps in the road, and potential heartbreak, so we need your prayers for strength!  Only God knows that plan that He has laid out for us.  He is working something amazing!

In Case You're Wondering...

I wrote this update over a month ago, but never published it, as I was hoping for an answer to give you all, but I decided that now is the time to share how our adoption journey has gone so far:

*4-15-16
Okay... Where to start?  It's been a while, and the road has both been bumpy, uneventful, and also almost completely blocked.

It's been almost a year since our Dossier was sent off to Uganda, filled with hope and excitement for a quick match.  As is the case in developing countries, there were issues that needed to be resolved and delays.

Last fall we felt close to finally receiving a long-awaited referral and began discussing a sibling more in-depth with Gambo.  He seemed just as excited as we were and talked often about things he would do with his brother  or sister.  Finally the day came!  An email with information on a little girl.  We cautiously and excitedly read about this girl who was waiting for a forever family, looking for "signs" that she would be our new daughter, while being careful to evaluate everything and seek God's will for our family.  We spent the next week going back and forth over the information, while we sought advice, wise counsel, and I secretly started dreaming and planning for her.  Yet, something was letting me hold back from fully going all in.

We asked for clarification about some of the paperwork as some of the details were confusing.  When we finally got the answers to our questions, we saw very clearly that it would not be possible for us to adopt this little girl and we had to pass on her referral to another family.  It was sad, but at the same time we felt so at peace with the decision.  We had done everything possible to be well-informed and ready, and the door closed for us.  We took and deep breath and held on, confident that another referral would be coming soon.

Enter the beginning of this year, another possible referral was at hand, but this time, with joy and after thorough investigation, we saw this other child reunited with his relatives.  Bittersweet.

We knew the road was going to be bumpy, but we weren't fully prepared for the shock that awaited us at the beginning of March.

Some of you may have heard in the news what has happened in Uganda.  There has been legislation proposed in the form of a the Child's Act Amendment to help protect the rights of Uganda's children from exploitation.  The Act has been circulating Uganda for many years with no movement.  This year there has been some rewriting of the bill, so that it was actually proposed before parliament and voted on... and passed.  This is wonderful news for the rights of children in Uganda, but also comes at the cost of significantly decreasing the possibility for international adoptions to occur--- which can also be not-so-good news for children with no family who are waiting and waiting, where international adoption is their only hope for a family.  You can read more about what the bill means at A Child's Voice here.

This Amendment has been passed by parliament, but must be signed by the president of Uganda to become law.  He still has not signed it.

What does this mean for us?
From what I've gathered the new act seems like it would require residency in Uganda for at least a year, and approval from a governing board before being able to adopt internationally.  This would make it impossible for us (and many other families as well).

It seems we may have come to the end of our road to Ugandan adoption.

We are still waiting on official word that it has been signed into law, so I even hesitate to post this, but it is looking more likely that it will happen.  At any rate, it seems difficult to imagine our family completing an adoption in Uganda before we move this summer.  (Oh, by the way, we are moving again)

Where do we go from here?

We ask for your prayers for our next step.  During this next phase of life, we are going to be in a difficult position to be able to pursue an international adoption.  We are looking at other avenues, as we do still hope and pray to add to our family and include a sibling for Gambo who looks like him.  This is important to us for him to not feel alone as he grows up.

We love Uganda, and it will always hold a place in our family.  We hope that someday Uganda will open up clear and ethical opportunities for foreigners to adopt internationally, but we do not know when that will happen.

Our bumps and road blocks mean God is still moving and directing us to what He has next for us, and toward what will be for our good.  We keep trusting him, yielding to His timing and His plan.

*5/25/16
UPDATE:
It looks like the President has now signed it into law.  We had a brief thought that there might be a step toward another referral, but it looks like this is finally our answer.  God has other plans for us.

This door has closed.

Yet God is good!  He knows what will come, and we can trust Him.

Big Update... you don't want to miss it!

Wow... it's been almost 8 months since I updated.  Which I knew, of course... I just wasn't ready to update yet.  

First, life got in the way.  Moving to a new country, a new culture, a new home, trying to find new friends, a new church, new grocery stores... it takes a lot of time to feel fully settled.  So, updating the blog went on the back burner.

Our life has been far from boring!  The past several months have been filled with adventures, new firsts, growth spurts, and new skills learned.

OK, let's get the Big News out of the way before I start updating you on other things... it's what you really want to know anyway.

Our little Gambo has something he would like to announce....

YES!  He is going to be a big brother!  Not by pregnancy, but through Adoption!

We are adopting again!!

We are going to be adopting from Uganda again, since we have grown to know and love that beautiful country.  And we are excited for Gambo to have something in common with his siblings.  Not just having another sibling with the same skin color as him (which helps a bunch), but also one from the country where he was born.  

Now for the details:

1. Where are we?  We are in the beginning stages of starting this adoption.  However, we have already completed some paperwork.  

*Okay, time to be real...  We were so excited to begin this journey again, as God laid it on our hearts, but we were not ready to share it with the world since we didn't have any sort of timeline to when things would happen.  We went through a LONG wait to bring home our first little one from Uganda, and we may be in for more of the same, but we really don't know.  

So, my thoughts were, Why put everyone though that?  Why tell them we are adopting just to have them wait for 3 years and keep asking questions like "Any News?" over and over for 3 years?  Why set them up for potential matches and then have them fall through?  It's painful.  It's embarrassing.  It's difficult to talk about.  It's uncomfortable.  I don't want to do it again.  See, I really was thinking about me all of you!

But then I realized that YOU guys were my support.  YOU guys were my prayer partners.  YOU guys were my kingdom fighters.  And it's lonely to do it on my own.  Yes, it is hard to face challenges that I am not sure I am ready for, but wouldn't I rather do it with YOU by my side?  Yes!

Okay, back to... paperwork.  We began a homestudy, got background checks, filled out questionnaires, and turned everything in.  We even collected and turned in all paperwork for the Dossier for Uganda.  We are now waiting on a finalized homestudy.  We need this last piece of the puzzle to add to our Dossier, and to apply for US immigration approval.  

We honestly wanted to wait until we had word that it was officially complete before letting you all know.  Again, it was fear. So, here I am, letting you all know that it is NOT complete, and I need your prayers.  It is out of our hands.  There is nothing we can do.  I am not sure why it is taking so long just to finalize, but there could be a number of factors-- people being out of the office, files being lost in email-land, wrong updated versions, miscommunication, no communication, who knows?

So, as I questioned out loud, "Where is our homestudy?  Where is our homestudy?" when I checked my email for the 100th time before 9am, I realized I was saying this in front of my 3-year-old.  I was setting an example of worry and anxiousness.  Immediately Phil 4:6 came to mind:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Oh...yeah... So my son and I stopped and prayed right away together that our homestudy would come soon.  Oh, it feels so good to take it to God in prayer!  So, I ask that you pray with me!  And pray also for my peace, that I would not worry or be anxious.

2.  Children.  We are applying to adopt 1-2 children, either gender, up to 4 years old by the time of placement.  We need to stay in birth order, so we have a small age bracket that will work for our family.  We are open to siblings, twins, or a single child.  We know there are many children waiting for a family at the baby home in Uganda, but many of them are just a bit older than our age range, or are making plans for reunification with family (not adoptable).  So, we trust that God has a hand in which child(ren) will join our family, and we will need to wait for a referral from our agency.


3. Timeline.  We wish we knew!  Ha ha!  We are hoping for completed Homestudy soon, another 1.5-2 months waiting on immigration approval, dossier transmission to Uganda sometime in the Spring.  If we receive a referral this summer, maybe we can apply for a court date and end up traveling by fall or at least by the end of the year.  ONLY a guess.  -->Here's how it probably will go down... rush to complete paperwork... Bump in the road... wait several months... rush to complete paperwork... Bump in the road... wait several more months... More bumps... skies finally part... several months or a couple to years later we travel to Uganda! (Or have to switch to a different country, who knows!).  

*THE PLAN is to follow God's will wherever He leads us.  
*THE HOPE is that another child who needs a family would bless us to come home to be with us.
*THE HOW is up to God.


4. What does Gambo think?  He is excited.  We have been talking to him about a brother or sister for quite a while, and he likes the idea.  He would be GREAT with a sibling!  He sometimes talks about things that he would like to do with a sibling, but sometimes says he doesn't want to share his room (or his Mama) with a sibling.  He is a Mama's Boy!  We also talk a lot about going back to Uganda, and he is very excited for that.  He is looking forward to seeing his primary caregiver at the baby home, who we have continued to talk about and share about with him since coming home, because she was a big part of his life.  We talk about things we are looking forward to doing... riding Boda Boda's, eating Chapati and rice and beans, etc.  We loved Uganda, so we talk about it a lot.  And it is important for him to have a positive view of his home country.


5. How does that work living in Japan?  We are still figuring all of this out.  We found a wonderful homestudy agency who will work with us here (they do home studies for other families here quite often).  We will gather information on how to bring the child(ren) into Japan, and also when to stop off in the U.S. to get the US immigration paperwork started.  Some things take extra time to receive in the mail, and sometimes we have to attach cover-letters to explain our situation, but otherwise, it should work just fine.

MOST OF ALL, we welcome your enthusiasm and support for what we are embarking on... our next "Journey of Adoption."

P.S.  I really kind of ran out of space to do a full update, so I will leave you with just a few recent pictures from our snowboarding trip to Niseko, Japan.

3-year-old on a snowboard!

Learning tips from daddy

Sipping hot cocoa with mommy

Bellies and Tears

It began with a observation about Mary.

As my son flipped through the pages of his children's Bible he found the story of the angels telling Mary she would give birth to the baby Jesus.

"Where's Mary?  Where's Mary?" he repeated.  He is full of questions these days.

I asked him what was special about Mary.  Did he know that Mary carried baby Jesus in her belly?

A look of wonder came across his face.

"Jesus in Mary's belly?"

"Yes"

"Journey in Aunt Chrissy's belly."  

(His Aunt Chrissy just had my newest niece, named Journey, and he remembers that he got to touch her belly before Journey arrived.)

And then the words came out of his mouth...

"[Gambo] in Mama's belly... [Gambo] in Mama's belly?"

... my ears heard them in slow motion.  And then all of the sudden I felt tears welling up.

"Oh, Sweetheart, I so wish you were in my belly!"

I run over to scoop him into my arms, while I sit on the floor with him.

"I didn't get to carry you in my belly.  That was your first mama, your birth mama.  She got to carry you in her belly, in Uganda."

"Uganda?"

"Yes, that's where you were born."  (And then I continue to tell him his story again, as I have told him before, about how he came to be in our family... only this time I sense he understands it with more clarity about what it really means)

I have to pause every now and then to keep from bursting into sobs.

He snuggles closer and lets out a little whimper.

I hold him and tell him that I will never leave him.  I will be his mama forever, God willing.

He's stuck with me until he is 105!

Eventually we are both looking into each others eyes and giggling.  He feels safe again.  He feels reassured.


This is only the beginning...  many more questions will come.  Many more heart wrenching moments.  Many more opportunities for connection.  Many more smiles and giggles.

This is adoption.  This is life.  This is God weaving together a family in one of the most amazing ways.

Praise Him!

[Gambo] is the nickname I use for him on this blog.

Adoption Video!!!

One Year Home, and I finally got the adoption video 

finished!

Here is the short version of our story (5 mins).  Thanks to Kristy Struska for most of the photos and video taken.  She accompanied us as our photographer and support in Uganda, and it was so worth it to have her there!

Tada! One Year Home!!! (with pics and video)

WE MADE IT!  

ONE YEAR has flown by with our little Gambo home!

Can you guys believe it has been this long?  It certainly seems to have gone fast for us.  We were blessed to have a good full year of stability for our little guy.  No upheavals, no "business trips," no trips to the M.E., no moving.  Ahhh... it was wonderful!

Now we must move on to greater things...  yes, I mean, literally Move.  The house is sold.

We have to be out in a few weeks.  Then we find something to do and someplace to go until we leave the good ole USA.

The past month has been busy, and I take less and less pictures of our day to day, but I am taking more quick videos with my phone.  It's hard to capture all the cuteness of Gambo in one pic.  (Though it is possible)

Speaking of pictures, this month Gambo has been obsessed with my old camera tripod!

Maybe he'll enjoy photography like his mama.

What also got him very interested in the camera?  Well, this mama kept pulling it out to take pictures of the Airshow happening in our backyard!

Yes the Blue Angels were performing at an airshow close to our house.

I took Gambo to go watch them (with ear protection of course).

And this is how cool you are supposed to look while waiting for the planes to show up.

Day to day life happens around here

Like Gambo being silly

Music is still a big part of his day

But most music comes out of his mouth now.

He still gets a little camera shy, clamming up, but he loves to sing

He has his silly moments

But he still loves to snuggle!

His FIRST for the month was St. Patrick's Day!  He didn't know what it was all about, but he got GREEN quiche and GREEN pancakes to eat!

On the paperwork front... we got his US passport!!!  Now we can travel!  I also filed for his SS card and didn't seem to have any issues with that.

It was a long line, out into the parking lot, that I waited 45 mins just to get into the building... but here's hoping the card comes soon!

One more large piece of paperwork, the Certificate of Citizenship, we are waiting to apply for.  It will take lots of time and lots of money to process, but later on we will be glad we got it.

Praise God with us that we have made it this far!  

P.S. amazing adoption video coming soon...

11 Months Home Update (With Pictures and Video)

Whoo Hoo!  Getting close to having Gambo home in the USA for a year.  Here is what has happened over the last month.

My little boy with little hands

is growing.  Look at all those teeth now!

Though he has gained some weight, I still carry him in the baby carrier a lot.

A lot of people in store remark how it must kill my back, but I don't mind.

Gambo continues to be fascinated with dogs.

We went on a trip to Las Vegas last month to visit our friends, Nathan and Charity

and Gambo got to play in their backyard.

Mom and Dad got to escape on a date night and saw the Las Vegas sights like the Bellagio fountains with the Paris hotel in the background.

As well as Ceasar's Palace, which we got lost in.

We also were amazed at how they can make the insides of hotels look like you are outside!

Even The Venetian Hotel has a real canal running through it!

Without gambling there was still plenty to see in the area.

(I couldn't leave Las Vegas without getting a picture with an Elvis impersonator)

Around the home, Gambo loves to mop… Yes, he is obsessed with MOPPING right now!

He's also having fun discovering new things like dandelions.

He's enjoyed some days at the park,

which he really loves!

And even when it is not sunny out (a rare occurrence here), he still loves to be outside.

My little rain-lover checking out the rain.

Holding the umbrella is one of his favorite things.

But he doesn't always get what to do with it…

Some of Gambo's FIRSTS this month revolved around animals.

He rode his first horse-- actually it was a pony.  He was scared to death of it at first and clung to me for dear life!

But then he sort got the hang of it by the end.

The only horse he actually liked to ride was this one…

He also found his first worm!

Yes, I have a little BOY, who I am sure will find many more.

I love his curiosity.

But he's too open to suggestion… like when he dad suggested he EAT the worm!

(Don't worry, Mom stepped in and stopped the atrocity)

As far as paperwork goes (when does it end??), we are waiting to receive his birth certificate in the mail.  We also are waiting to get his US passport in the mail.  And after we have those things, we still need to get him a SS Number.  So, there are still several things to do, plus more Post-Placement reports.

But he is so worth it!