Thankful for a TRUE God

To start with today and then give an update on the past few days...



I went to a meeting at the US Embassy today. It is something they host each month to give updates on what is happening with the adoption process in Uganda. It was good. Nothing monumental...but good to go to. The Embassy "campus" is BEAUTIFUL! My driver told me that Americans know how to make things nice. It is true. We are good at going above and beyond for looks! :) Sometimes that's good-sometimes it's terrible. Haha. It led us into a conversation about how I thought different things about Uganda are beautiful and things we don't have in America. He thought some of the things were crazy because they are so normal to him. We had a great conversation about how creative God is- and how LITTLE we know about Him the more we learn. One thing I LOVE the most about going different places is seeing different things God has created and fashioned that are not in the area I usually live. The CD that was on in the car was a Passion cd. Both of us sang along as we drove through crazy Kampala traffic. I know this is a terrible description of it all but it was such a sweet worship moment. I can't wait to see God! We are all made in His image...and I look WAY different than Ugandans...or Chinese...or Norwegians- and yet all of us are created in His image. I can't wait to see how beautiful and complex He is. Worship is really my only response to even thinking about that reality- I can't imagine when it is made real! I'm so thankful to be loved by a God that I don't have to earn favor with- that was proactive in a plan to redeem me to Himself. I pass a mosque on my way to and from anywhere here because it is right near our house. EVERY SINGLE TIME I get a feeling of emptiness looking at it. It is completely empty and looks so unloving and uninviting. I am so sad for those that go day after day seeking the approval of someone that will never be enough to save them. I'm thankful for my adoption. My heart is so full of worship in the most unconventional ways here. I really wish there was a way to write how my heart feels here-but I can't seem to find the words. I am content in the chaos.



On Monday I went early in the morning with Jonathan to the passport "office". It is actually a tent outside with benches underneath it and 5 desks at the front with immigration officers working at them. You literally have to fight your way to one of the chairs in front of their desk to get your file seen. Once again I am so thankful for being raised in a culture where the concept of a line was absurd and it is not actually rude to push and shove- it is necessity. I sat and observed for a bit to get a feel for the process and then jumped right in and got my baby boys file seen so he can get a passport! :) Now we wait (maybe a few weeks- maybe sooner- you never know) for it to arrive so we can do the last steps with the US Embassy to leave Uganda with our boy.



Monday also held Jonathan's last IV appointment at the doctor. I am SO thankful to God for His provision of Dr. Susan! We met her at the hospital with Matthew which has lead us to appointments for the other boys as well. We are now going to a clinic she works at that is more private and is AMAZING! Room for Andrew to run- literally no one else in the office. They show up when WE are available to come. She even called me today to see how Jonathan was doing! The blessings are overflowing. He has some more oral meds we are taking at home and then we go for the recheck on Saturday. Pray for his cough to completely go away. This seems to be something that the babies from the orphanage struggle with. He doesn't seem too bothered by it, but I want his body to be healthy! He has slept through the night for the past 3 nights!!



We also moved on Monday to 2 units down from where we were. We moved AWAY from the noisy restaurant and I am SO happy! :) We also now share a backyard with the other family that has little boys here. Matthew is one happy camper.



So thankful to have survived Monday. It held a lot and was very exhausting, but I thought today as I drove back from the embassy that I was afraid of all Monday would hold but here I am and it's Tuesday and I survived. God's mercies are new every morning. I am experiencing that in such a real way here. He truly gives me no more than what I can handle, and I can only handle things in His power. I'm happy to be putting the Holy Spirit to extra use. I think that is part of the reason I feel so satisfied here. I NEED God- and even though that usually means a little tougher life- it is far more fulfilling because that is how we are created to live! I can set up for myself a pretty easy comfortable life in America sometimes- Uganda will stretch you past your ability to hold it together!



Tomorrow holds nothing so far. :) Today I made cheese blintz- a Christmas tradition for us. I was so happy to find cream cheese here (which I was told didn't exist) and was able to make them! They are a little crumbly because the bread here is that way- but I am SO happy to have a bit of tradition here with us. We have been doing different fun things with the two other families here to help us feel Christmassy. Tonight we ordered pizza (so yummy!) because it is BOGO on Tuesday. We usually always eat together which is so fun. Then we watched lots of Mickey Christmas movies and had hot chocolate with marshmallows (a surprise find at the store today!)!! I also had found a Betty Crocker chocolate chip muffin mix here! It was almost too much goodness for my tummy to handle! I left my camera at the neighbors so I will post the pictures later- not that you will be that impressed with them because they are normal things in America- but they are CELEBRATED here! :)



Jonathan is THRIVING! Love looks good on him. The boys are SO great with him. They LOVE to play with him and he smiles at the constantly! Andrew has been really fun today. Goofy, sweet, and fairly obedient. :) Matthew is having the time of his life with his new friends. We are struggling a bit with him having to remember that mommy's requests trump friend's requests. Melt downs usually happen about 15 minutes before dinner is ready. Tomorrow I am going to pull him in for a little down time in the afternoon- hopefully that will help. Today was better than yesterday so I hope I can say the same thing tomorrow. We miss daddy. The boys LOVE to see him on FaceTime. They are always poking their big ol' heads in the way of each other so I'm sure Adam's view isn't that great- but they want to make sure they get daddy time! :) 2 more weeks until he's back!