First few days…

How do I describe these first few days in a way that you will understand?

I don't really have the words.  If I could just open my heart and show you how it looks and how it fells then you may have a slight idea.

Drew is so easy to love!  He is very funny, goofy and at time detail oriented.  He likes to put things right where they need to be or if something falls or is out of place he is the first one to pick it up and make it right!

His favorite word is "Come!".  And that definitely deserves an exclamation mark!  When he says "Come", he means it!  He will grab  you by the hand and take you right where he wants you.  He likes to grab one of us and take us for a walk outside in the compound.  He talks about what he sees and he likes to sing along the walk!

Singing…he is unbelievable!  He will sing for hours a day.  He knows all the tunes to most song but he doesn't know all the words. Some of the words he sings are Luganda and some of them are his own language but the chorus is always English.  So funny!  He loves to sing, Old McDonald Had a Farm, Jesus Loves Me, Wheels On The Bus, ABC's, Happy Birthday and You Are My Sunshine…there are many more but I'm too tired to think of them!

He is the oldest in his babies home and it shows.  He likes to boss the other kids around and sometimes he will push them down and then pick them right back up:)  It is definitely God's perfect timing for us to be here.  It is time for Drew to leave this sweet place that has loved him and taught him all about God's love.  It is time for him to come home with his family who is absolutely crazy about him!

Where is he?

I have been planning this moment for a long time.  In my mind, it included a video camera, photos and an amazing emotional introduction, and probably all of it happening in slow motion.

We pulled into the familiar setting and it was prettier than the videos showed.  I couldn't believe we were here.  After all the pictures and video I've seen of this wonderful place we were here and our son was inside! 

So where is he? We're they going to bring him to us or did we go in?  We parked and waited. Then they started to unload our bags into the babies home. So we helped. Still no one.

I wasn't really sure what was going on and how we would meet him, so we gathered our things and walked inside.  It was dark and quiet…too quiet!  The staff were coming by greeting us with handshakes and hugs with their big Ugandan smiles. : )

We went inside and down a dark hallway.  Ranger had the video camera.

All of a sudden, Drew appeared from around the corner.  I knew instantly it was him!  One of his Aunties was carrying him and announced to him his mommy and daddy were here to see him!  I looked at Jeff and smiled …not believing that moment was here really here.

Drew looked at us and was VERY serious!  Not sure what was going through his mind.  I then realized that the Auntie had just gotten him out of bed and woke him up from a deep sleep…that's why it was too quiet in the home:)

She pointed to Drew and announced that mommy was here and he needed to come and see me.  I put my arms out and he allowed me to take him.  He was soaking wet from sweating during his nap and was very groggy.  But he did not resist and just sat there in my arms and listened as I talked to him and introduced  him to his daddy, brother and sisters.

We stood in the dark hallway for a few minutes and talked and just kept staring at Drew soaking in every detail of him.  I handed Drew to Jeff and asked him if he wants to see daddy.  He also went right into Jeff's arms.

My memorial video and photo session never happened.  It was too dark and none of us were in a position to make a good film anyways, but it didn't really matter.  It was perfect.  We were taken upstairs to our living quarters and were given a tour of the bedrooms, mini kitchen and outdoor patio.  This all work just fine.

We were told that the staff had lunch ready for us.  We sat at outdoor patio and were served Irish potatoes, minced meat with grilled onions, white rice (with something in it…not sure what!), and a Ugandan version of baked beans.  It tasted good.  Drew sat with us and I fed him…he LOVES potatoes.  After a little while he had a few bites and a few sips of water and then he came alive!  He must take after me, I need a few minutes to wake up and get my wits about me before I can engage in much conversation.

He sat in a chair next to me and let me feed him food and give him water meanwhile chatting it up with rest of the family.  He talks A LOT but most of what he says we can't understand.  It's either Lugandan or his own made up language, I'm not sure yet which one it is. : )

After lunch, we played and played!  He is so social and likes to take us around the house.  He wanted me and Andie to put on our shoes and go for a walk around the compound.  We walk and talk, point out different plants and objects and he says hello to all the staff as we go by. 

Later, after we ate dinner, we got Drew all cleaned up in a new set of pjs and brushed his teeth and then I filled him with lots of kisses and prayers and laid him in the crib right next to our bed.  I covered him with his new animal blanket and gave him his fuzzy puppy dog and said goodnight!  He laid there closed his eyed and fell asleep.  I stayed in the room and pull my exhausted self right into bed and fell deep into the oblivion of my dreams with my new son sleeping right next to me! 

It's pure heaven!!

We arrived in Uganda safe and sound!

Our last flight from Dubai to Entebbe was 5 hours…that's nothing after 14 hours on a plane and then 12 hours sitting in an airport!  The time went by quickly which I am so thankful for.  The anticipation to meet our sweet boy was so real!  I watched a movie on the flight and later Jeff asked which movie I watched, i could not remember for the life of me.  My mind was on Drew the whole time!
We landed and felt the heat and humidity right away…it felt good to not be cold for once in the past 4 months!  I love Portland but this heat feels so good on my old weary bones:)

Once inside the terminal, the smell of Uganda overcame my senses!

I told Andie how much I love the people, the culture and the beautiful scenery.  It has been 5 years since I have been here and it feels so familiar to me and gives me a sense of being home.

It took us an hour to get our visa, grab our luggage and then go change in the bathroom.  We REALLY needed to freshen up and change our clothes after 2 days of traveling.  We thought we would be able to shower in the Dubai airport but that didn't work out.  So stinky and tired we rolled into Uganda.

We made it through the front doors and into a sea of Ugandans all looking at us waving signs or calling out.  Jeff and I had our eyes open looking to and fro for a sign from our babies home with our name on it.  We wandered out the door and Jeff found the Director of our Babies home. 

We pushed our carts with 10 checked bags and 6 carry on bags to our van (we did not travel light),  Thankfully, ALOT of this stuff we will leave here.

Then we were off!  We had an hour drive through Entebbe and into Kampala.  The kids tried so hard to stay awake and enjoy the scenery and the Ugandan way of life but before long they had all passed out.  Meanwhile, Jeff and I got to ask lots of questions about our babies home and of course, gather any and all information about Drew that we could.

Before long, we turned onto a road with a big sign with our babies home on it!  I couldn't believe it was here…AFTER TWO LONG YEARS!  The time was

So many thoughts running through my mind…
Will he be shy or afraid of us?
Will he cry and not want us to hold him?
How will I respond to him?
How will the kids react?

I could go on and on.

We turned into the driveway and I didn't care HOW it went or if we had the camera ready or if we got it on video…it didn't matter.  I just wanted to see my son!

Made it to Dubai!

We boarded the plane in Portland and made a quick stop over in Seattle! We had time to grab some lunch, find our gate and then track down a Starbucks for a treat before we boarded our plane to Dubai.

The kids were in heaven on our plane! They have never really flown before so this huge plane with all the movies, games and music they could dream of was very fun! They were giddy as they discovered all the cool gadgets and turned on a movie as soon as possible!

We ate a few mediocre airplane meals, watched a few movies and TRIED to get a few hours of sleep. I'm not sure how successful we were at the sleep part but we all tried!

I am positive the only 2 people on the plane with a chronic cough sat right behind me and right next to me. I just kept thinking how thankful I was to even be on that plane! Ranger came home Friday from school not feeling well and Saturday he was worse, so we headed to the doctor to see what she said. She believed that he had influenza A and that he should not travel. We tracked down Tamiflu for the whole family (which was not easy...Jeff didn't get home until from the pharmacy until11:30pm that night) and then of course, we called all of our prayer warriors to start praying!

Thankfully, he didn't get any worse and by Sunday morning he had a shower, finished packing his bag and was ready to go. He has felt better and better as they day went on! Now, after 24 hours of flying he is completely back to normal! We are so thankful for your prayers!

We are now in Dubai and we SHOULD be sleeping but we are ALL wide awake! Playing a few rounds of Rummy Cube, having relay races across the airport and eating chocolate treats sent with us from a dear friend!

We land in Entebbe in 13 hours and then make our way through Kampala traffic as we make our way to our son! God is good!

Count down is on...

Ok, we have less than 4 days until we board our plane headed for Uganda!

We will have a quick flight to Seattle and then we'll board a big plane for 15 hours to Dubai AND THEN we will sleep in the airport (we are hoping to find a few comfy benches to crash on). Early that next morning, we will have a 5 hour plane ride to Entebbe then another 2 hour drive . . .

Once we land, pass immigration and get visas we will seek to meet a staff member of our son's babies home. Then we jump in the car and head straight to meet our son!

Can you feel the excitement?

What a privilege it will be to live at the babies home for a short time as we bond and attach to Drew and most importantly, he gets to attach and bond to us!

During our stay, our kiddos will get to "help out" at the home. There are quite a few babies to play with, help feed, give a bath, read books to and run around outside with! They think this will be a fun family vacation but THEY ARE WRONG! They will be loving and serving on these sweet babies while they await their forever families! What a privilege this will be!

It's a miracle!

What do I say...I'm sitting here in bed and there is so much on my mind. It's racing in 50 different directions actually! We received word today that our investigation has been resolved and we need to be in Uganda before our court date on Feb 1st!

Yes, yes, yes...we are so excited!!!

I knew, I just knew that when we got that phone call yesterday the answer was going to be that our case is still delayed with no movement in the foreseen future. I had prepared my heart for that news...probably just to protect it from another devastating blow that our court date would be cancelled and we would not be traveling to go and meet our son and bring him home.

I am pretty good at defending and protecting my heart when needed! But nothing, did you hear me? NOTHING! Can prepare your heart for the journey of adoption! You can read thousands of blogs and talk to wonderful adoptive families and they will openly and genuinely share their stories of triumphs and trials. You listen intently, thinking maybe this will be what your story is like or maybe your child will be like theirs (either to good to be true or a terror of terrors). And so...you prepare yourself as best you know how!

There is a point in the process when you come to realize that you are actually clueless and you have absolutely have no control of anything!! That's a good place to be!

We've gone through 2 years of home studies, fingerprinting, USCIS forms, lots of paperwork and then the waiting list. Exactly 4 months ago, we were matched with the sweetest little boy who had been abandoned by everyone in the world and he desperately needed a family to call his own. We quickly fell in love and have been working hard to be ready emotionally, spiritually and financially over the course of these past months. Then came the devastating news of our trip being cancelled 2 days before we were to board the plane with our 3 kids and our many, many bags of luggage due to a few issues that arose and needed to be investigated!

Thankfully, we have the BEST agency and our Ugandan lawyer is full of integrity and committed to seek and find truth under all circumstances! So, we know that our sweet boy and our family are in good hands as we ALL keep trusting what God is doing and what He will do in the weeks to come!

So now...in 8 days our family of 5 will be boarding a plane heading to Uganda to meet our sweet boy and smooch on those precious little cheeks:-).

As our journey continues, I only have 1 thing to say to our friends, family or other adoptive families who are following our journey. The ONLY thing that is reliable in the midst of this crazy process with all the ups and downs is the One who asked us to step out in faith, trusting His plan for our future and the future of our family. God has been constant and faithful this whole way and I know He's not letting go now and when we board that plane we know the journey REALLY begins!

Come join us... it's going to be an adventure!

Erin