A few FUN things we’ve found our little flock doing in the last 3 ½ months:
Using 4 foot halogen light bulbs (fallen from the garage rafters due to a frisky raccoon) as light-saber swords in the driveway
Having a barefoot tea party….on TOP of the van
Sitting inside the dog kennel with 8 tiny chickens (their current home until they are bigger and the coop is finished)
Microwaving non-microwave bowls...just a small fire, very containec, nothing serious.
Pooping in last year’s Christmas tree stand still sitting in the side yard (yes, the tree was no longer inside)
Sucking pickle juice from the jar with long twisty straws
Cutting hair with children’s safety scissors…yup, they cut hair, moms! It’s the truth despite what the packaging says!
Coloring the couch with ball point pens (I’m sure this one could have been worse, but it’s still not coming off…suggestions?)
Applying green eye shadow to each other’s belly buttons…and the cream carpet in the bedroom
Rubbing sand into the already course thick brown hair of our little brownies (try getting that out!)
Making “baby burritos” by rolling up in the large living room rug (it’s like 5’ x 8’ – you can’t even tell there is a kid in there!)
Turning on the jets in the master bathtub until there are bubbles overflowing out all over the floor
Body painting with yogurt (again, this could have been much worse, I do realize that)
Sneaking onto the counter and licking the frosting off all the cupcakes waiting to be put in their container when cooled
And so many more that are escaping my jelly-like memory at the moment…
I’m sure there will be many addendums to this post…probably starting tomorrow shortly after they all wake up :) Each day is an adventure around here and with four kids 5 and under the movement never stops.
I do realize all this makes me sound like the incompetent mother…please do not turn us in to CPS…our children are safe and well and none the worse for wear, but they are very quick to discover new and audacious ways to experience life…and although it is messy sometimes, it is wonderful discovering right along with them.
And for those of you wondering why I rarely return phone calls or take far too many days to get back to you on email…well, now you have it!
What types of shenanigans have you found your little ones in lately?
15 July 2011
08 July 2011
A Little Retropsect, Light on Darkness
There is a darkness in Adoption.
I must first say that, the silence on The Orphans Table has been long. Its true. The content of this post is the reason...at least one of them. There are four others which run, and talk, and sing, and poop, and make messes. The trouble with blogging is that you have to embrace the idea (if you are writing about your own life) that you might say something you regret...and then post it for anyone to see. I have always adopted the proverb "It is better to be silent and considered wise than to speak and be found a fool." So there has been some silence.
In the midst of all that has gone on in our family, all the beauty and binding together of lives, all the God sized miraculous provision, there has been a darkness we have avoided talking about. A darkness that, for a time, remained silent because we were ashamed. We are very blessed to have faithful friends who actively pursue us so we were forced at length to speak of it. As we spoke this great and ugly thing lost some of its power over us and we found that this darkness in our family seems to be a part of many (if not most) adoptive families lives. It has been mostly kept quiet by them also for a variety of reasons. There is a truth that is silent in the adoption community (especially the Christian adoption community)...there is darkness in Adoption. There is light also, I don't want to be misunderstood. Hopefully we have sufficiently told of the immense joy and beauty we have experienced in our children and in the knitting together of our family and all the variety of blessings God has given us. But it is true that as sure as there is light there is darkness.
It took four years, almost to the day, our adoption I mean. Four years of anticipation of loving of fundraising...of false starts and wrong turns and paperwork and the rest and finally the day had come. We were squeezing squishy baby Naomi and feeling the vise like bear hugs of Silas and there were no words to express our joy. And there was evening and there was morning the first day. The second day with his cries of "Mommy na Da Da" still ringing in my ears...even now it is hard for me to say...I looked at Silas and I saw a stranger, I heard Naomi crying and I was annoyed instead of moved. What was easy and manageable was gone. And what existed now before my eyes was...unexpected.
The secular world calls what we experienced post-pardem depression. It's the same they say, adoptive parents have it just like bio parents do...it's the let down the...blah, blah, blah...it's not the same. Post-pardem depression has a physiological cause, hormones and the rest...this was something else...something darker. I am not saying that depression has nothing to do with it...just not post-pardem depression. This depression is the kind you can't get off the hook for. This depression is only a symptom of the problem...not the cause.
We have heard the horror stories of adopted children who are terrors with legs, who kick and bite and spit and yell...uncontrollable. Our kids were really nothing like that. Naomi was the easiest baby I have ever come in contact with. Once early on she fell over (the propped up pillows were clearly not enough) and there folded in half like a little brown taco, instead of crying, she fell asleep. Silas was remarkably loud but he was jubilant with happiness early on; we had our issues but nothing like the stories we have heard. Later after coming home he was basically our most obedient child. It couldn't be blamed on the kids...no...it wasn't them, it isn't them. We were not ready for that.
You see we knew adoption was going to be hard, we knew in one sense that there was some darkness in adoption. But we thought the darkness was going to be in the kids. We thought their behavior was going to be the source of struggle. We never imagined that we would want out. We never thought that going back would seem better than facing tomorrow.
Jen likens our souls to a pot which we thought was strong and clean with thick walls, but when faced with our reality our pots cracked and what poured from the cracks was...poison. Black, thick, malignant and ugly. I have described it a little different like there was a small container filled with oil...the same black, ugly stuff down resting un-noticed just below my heart, similarly it was opened up and set to boil and it cooked me. The image is the same, the struggle is the same. Sin wants out. We often see sin as a thing that wants to get into an otherwise clean vessel (us). The truth is that the vessel is horrifying soiled and the sin is trying to get out.
Struggling with all this, the Holy Spirit began his healing work. An elder at my church said "meditate on Hebrews 12." I did. I read, "it is for discipline that you endure, God deals with you as sons." "He disciplines us for our good so that we may share in his holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it afterwords it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore strengthen hands that are weak and knees that are feeble...so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint but healed."
What was even more shocking to me is that all this comes under the example of Christ, who "for the joy set before him endured the cross." What was Christ's joy...I think it was two fold he took profound joy in doing the will of his father, and he took profound joy in us. It was his death and Resurrection that was the cause of our reconciliation. Yes of our adoption. We are disciplined as sons because of his being crushed as an outsider. My struggle as an adoptive father and the sin which was bubbling into my soul made me acutely aware of my unworthiness before God. Ironically it is in this miserable state that hope is most apparent. My total inability became God's glory and healing has begun.
So what is the darkness in Adoption?
My friends the darkness in adoption is me.
To those of you who are currently struggling in a similar way do not be deceived. There is hope...but it does not lie in your strength or will power or parenting the hope lies in the only place it really can. Hope comes at the foot of the cross for that is where adoption really began. It is there that God made that glorious decision to chose you over his perfect son if you will repent.
Listen to the words of Jesus. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matt 11:28-29
There is darkness, but there is hope.
I must first say that, the silence on The Orphans Table has been long. Its true. The content of this post is the reason...at least one of them. There are four others which run, and talk, and sing, and poop, and make messes. The trouble with blogging is that you have to embrace the idea (if you are writing about your own life) that you might say something you regret...and then post it for anyone to see. I have always adopted the proverb "It is better to be silent and considered wise than to speak and be found a fool." So there has been some silence.
In the midst of all that has gone on in our family, all the beauty and binding together of lives, all the God sized miraculous provision, there has been a darkness we have avoided talking about. A darkness that, for a time, remained silent because we were ashamed. We are very blessed to have faithful friends who actively pursue us so we were forced at length to speak of it. As we spoke this great and ugly thing lost some of its power over us and we found that this darkness in our family seems to be a part of many (if not most) adoptive families lives. It has been mostly kept quiet by them also for a variety of reasons. There is a truth that is silent in the adoption community (especially the Christian adoption community)...there is darkness in Adoption. There is light also, I don't want to be misunderstood. Hopefully we have sufficiently told of the immense joy and beauty we have experienced in our children and in the knitting together of our family and all the variety of blessings God has given us. But it is true that as sure as there is light there is darkness.
It took four years, almost to the day, our adoption I mean. Four years of anticipation of loving of fundraising...of false starts and wrong turns and paperwork and the rest and finally the day had come. We were squeezing squishy baby Naomi and feeling the vise like bear hugs of Silas and there were no words to express our joy. And there was evening and there was morning the first day. The second day with his cries of "Mommy na Da Da" still ringing in my ears...even now it is hard for me to say...I looked at Silas and I saw a stranger, I heard Naomi crying and I was annoyed instead of moved. What was easy and manageable was gone. And what existed now before my eyes was...unexpected.
The secular world calls what we experienced post-pardem depression. It's the same they say, adoptive parents have it just like bio parents do...it's the let down the...blah, blah, blah...it's not the same. Post-pardem depression has a physiological cause, hormones and the rest...this was something else...something darker. I am not saying that depression has nothing to do with it...just not post-pardem depression. This depression is the kind you can't get off the hook for. This depression is only a symptom of the problem...not the cause.
We have heard the horror stories of adopted children who are terrors with legs, who kick and bite and spit and yell...uncontrollable. Our kids were really nothing like that. Naomi was the easiest baby I have ever come in contact with. Once early on she fell over (the propped up pillows were clearly not enough) and there folded in half like a little brown taco, instead of crying, she fell asleep. Silas was remarkably loud but he was jubilant with happiness early on; we had our issues but nothing like the stories we have heard. Later after coming home he was basically our most obedient child. It couldn't be blamed on the kids...no...it wasn't them, it isn't them. We were not ready for that.
You see we knew adoption was going to be hard, we knew in one sense that there was some darkness in adoption. But we thought the darkness was going to be in the kids. We thought their behavior was going to be the source of struggle. We never imagined that we would want out. We never thought that going back would seem better than facing tomorrow.
Jen likens our souls to a pot which we thought was strong and clean with thick walls, but when faced with our reality our pots cracked and what poured from the cracks was...poison. Black, thick, malignant and ugly. I have described it a little different like there was a small container filled with oil...the same black, ugly stuff down resting un-noticed just below my heart, similarly it was opened up and set to boil and it cooked me. The image is the same, the struggle is the same. Sin wants out. We often see sin as a thing that wants to get into an otherwise clean vessel (us). The truth is that the vessel is horrifying soiled and the sin is trying to get out.
Struggling with all this, the Holy Spirit began his healing work. An elder at my church said "meditate on Hebrews 12." I did. I read, "it is for discipline that you endure, God deals with you as sons." "He disciplines us for our good so that we may share in his holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it afterwords it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore strengthen hands that are weak and knees that are feeble...so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint but healed."
What was even more shocking to me is that all this comes under the example of Christ, who "for the joy set before him endured the cross." What was Christ's joy...I think it was two fold he took profound joy in doing the will of his father, and he took profound joy in us. It was his death and Resurrection that was the cause of our reconciliation. Yes of our adoption. We are disciplined as sons because of his being crushed as an outsider. My struggle as an adoptive father and the sin which was bubbling into my soul made me acutely aware of my unworthiness before God. Ironically it is in this miserable state that hope is most apparent. My total inability became God's glory and healing has begun.
So what is the darkness in Adoption?
My friends the darkness in adoption is me.
To those of you who are currently struggling in a similar way do not be deceived. There is hope...but it does not lie in your strength or will power or parenting the hope lies in the only place it really can. Hope comes at the foot of the cross for that is where adoption really began. It is there that God made that glorious decision to chose you over his perfect son if you will repent.
Listen to the words of Jesus. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matt 11:28-29
There is darkness, but there is hope.
04 April 2011
Super-Sized
“Do you take care of children?!?!” the kind silver-haired woman asked me in the fruit isle of Cost-co today. There were several large bags of bananas, a huge box of diapers and wipes, mongo-box of cheerios, and 4 gallons of milk in the basket, but I think it was the combo of brown and white monkeys hanging on and in my super-sized cart that caught her by surprise. I chuckled, not sure if she thought I ran a day care or was a foster parent, and answered, “No, they’re ALL mine.” ALL mine! I giggled to myself as I heard the words trill off my tongue. All four of these beautiful children are mine…and they are all here. In my cart. At Cost-co where I am now and for the next 18+ years buying everything in bulk!
The poor woman gasped in shock and fumbled with her words for a moment before responding, “WOW! They are…beautiful! You must be very busy with your hands so full.” And then she got it. “But how wonderful,” she reflected softly as she let her fingers trail through Maela’s silky gold curls and then caress the soft dark brown fluff on Naomi’s head. She offered me a most tender smile and silently walked away. I wanted to embrace her and tell her how thankful I was that she understood and then talk her through our entire adoption story, revealing all that God has done over the past 4 years…but squawks from the monkeys below jerked me back to the reality that most of my conversations during daylight hours will be less than 3-5 minutes, so we parted ways and shopped on.
The relief I felt from this interaction was just, well, overwhelming. I won’t repeat many of the other comments we received during our morning adventure to the super-store (they weren’t all offensive, but none worth mentioning quite like this one). I choked back a few tears and dropped a giant box of garbage bags next to Silas, who was perched between the bananas and large cheerio box, loving every minute of our excursion. After the three “walkers” scarged down one of those giant hot dogs each, and Noami sucked on a few pieces of their buns, I trudged through the doors, pushing a cart that must have weighed nearly 250 pounds (over 125 of those being just kids!), where the warm sunlight pierced our eyes (you know that bright-light thing when you leave that giant warehouse with no windows after an hour or more of dilated pupils…gets me everytime!) and made our way to the very close parking spot…another little gift to me from God today!
As I attempted to find a place in my kitchen for the way-too-big boxes and bags of food, which will no doubt be gone in just a few weeks time, I listened to the sounds of a little one crying for milk, another one singing ‘Jesus loves me’, and a strange mix of giggles and cries from the boys as they engaged each other in yet another epic battle of the swords (the soft Nerf kind, although ours are patched with tape in some of the places that are not-so-soft anymore).
My life feels a little bit like Cost-Co today…super-sized in so many ways . . . the variety of sounds, the number of little people, the mountains of laundry, the many colors, the amount we consume in food and drink each day (7 eggs this morning were not enough for just the 4 kids! I know…just wait till they’re older right…don’t remind me! But we are getting chickens soon), the stacks of diapers (both clean and dirty). And the abundant, overflowing, full to the brim, anointed and set apart giant-size cart of blessings! We are so blessed! God has done more than we will every fully know or comprehend, but what we DO comprehend is so far beyond anything we had every imagined.
In Uganda, we were a mess…all of us…a big fat mess, a Cost-Co size mess even. It was terrifying. I saw our family struggling in deep, dark ways we had never faced before, and I was sickened by my own response to it all. We were prepared for a storm to hit our cozy, calm home when everyone finally arrived. I braced myself, with a spotless floor and meals in the freezer, for a wild and crazy ride. And then a miracle struck! It was just about as surprising as that burst of light that slaps your face when you exit the super-store. God did a miracle! Our little boy, with his gorgeous mocha skin and priceless grin, chose to love me. He stepped off the plane and his heart was changed and so was mine. We had battled it out in Uganda and when I left, well, let’s just say we were not each other’s favorite person. But God did a miracle and we fell in love! My son and I!
The last two weeks he has been impossibly obedient, terribly compassionate towards his siblings, and overly eager to help me in every way he can. It’s just amazing, crazy amazing…and something only our God could do. This is not the behavior of an orphan’s first weeks at home, but here he is, our little blessing and we are in awe of our awesome God.
(For those of you reading this who KNOW the typical adoption pattern, you might be thinking, “honeymoon phase”, and you might be right. But remember he was with us for 2 months before even coming home…our “honeymoon” was a nightmare…and we truly believe THIS is the real Silas and God has done a miracle!)
With the risk of making life sound a little too rose-colored, I must say this is all so much easier than I had expected, but then again, I didn’t expect this miracle. And the freedom I am experiencing as the Lord continues to release me from the bondage of my sin, little by little, day by day, is most exhilarating. So as I listen to Silas mimic his sister and brother, singing Our God is an Awesome God, slurring and melding the words he doesn’t know all together, my heart and my mouth echo his praise…
OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!
(pictures of life at home coming soon...we are missing our camera charger and sadly the battery is dead!)
The poor woman gasped in shock and fumbled with her words for a moment before responding, “WOW! They are…beautiful! You must be very busy with your hands so full.” And then she got it. “But how wonderful,” she reflected softly as she let her fingers trail through Maela’s silky gold curls and then caress the soft dark brown fluff on Naomi’s head. She offered me a most tender smile and silently walked away. I wanted to embrace her and tell her how thankful I was that she understood and then talk her through our entire adoption story, revealing all that God has done over the past 4 years…but squawks from the monkeys below jerked me back to the reality that most of my conversations during daylight hours will be less than 3-5 minutes, so we parted ways and shopped on.
The relief I felt from this interaction was just, well, overwhelming. I won’t repeat many of the other comments we received during our morning adventure to the super-store (they weren’t all offensive, but none worth mentioning quite like this one). I choked back a few tears and dropped a giant box of garbage bags next to Silas, who was perched between the bananas and large cheerio box, loving every minute of our excursion. After the three “walkers” scarged down one of those giant hot dogs each, and Noami sucked on a few pieces of their buns, I trudged through the doors, pushing a cart that must have weighed nearly 250 pounds (over 125 of those being just kids!), where the warm sunlight pierced our eyes (you know that bright-light thing when you leave that giant warehouse with no windows after an hour or more of dilated pupils…gets me everytime!) and made our way to the very close parking spot…another little gift to me from God today!
As I attempted to find a place in my kitchen for the way-too-big boxes and bags of food, which will no doubt be gone in just a few weeks time, I listened to the sounds of a little one crying for milk, another one singing ‘Jesus loves me’, and a strange mix of giggles and cries from the boys as they engaged each other in yet another epic battle of the swords (the soft Nerf kind, although ours are patched with tape in some of the places that are not-so-soft anymore).
My life feels a little bit like Cost-Co today…super-sized in so many ways . . . the variety of sounds, the number of little people, the mountains of laundry, the many colors, the amount we consume in food and drink each day (7 eggs this morning were not enough for just the 4 kids! I know…just wait till they’re older right…don’t remind me! But we are getting chickens soon), the stacks of diapers (both clean and dirty). And the abundant, overflowing, full to the brim, anointed and set apart giant-size cart of blessings! We are so blessed! God has done more than we will every fully know or comprehend, but what we DO comprehend is so far beyond anything we had every imagined.
In Uganda, we were a mess…all of us…a big fat mess, a Cost-Co size mess even. It was terrifying. I saw our family struggling in deep, dark ways we had never faced before, and I was sickened by my own response to it all. We were prepared for a storm to hit our cozy, calm home when everyone finally arrived. I braced myself, with a spotless floor and meals in the freezer, for a wild and crazy ride. And then a miracle struck! It was just about as surprising as that burst of light that slaps your face when you exit the super-store. God did a miracle! Our little boy, with his gorgeous mocha skin and priceless grin, chose to love me. He stepped off the plane and his heart was changed and so was mine. We had battled it out in Uganda and when I left, well, let’s just say we were not each other’s favorite person. But God did a miracle and we fell in love! My son and I!
The last two weeks he has been impossibly obedient, terribly compassionate towards his siblings, and overly eager to help me in every way he can. It’s just amazing, crazy amazing…and something only our God could do. This is not the behavior of an orphan’s first weeks at home, but here he is, our little blessing and we are in awe of our awesome God.
(For those of you reading this who KNOW the typical adoption pattern, you might be thinking, “honeymoon phase”, and you might be right. But remember he was with us for 2 months before even coming home…our “honeymoon” was a nightmare…and we truly believe THIS is the real Silas and God has done a miracle!)
With the risk of making life sound a little too rose-colored, I must say this is all so much easier than I had expected, but then again, I didn’t expect this miracle. And the freedom I am experiencing as the Lord continues to release me from the bondage of my sin, little by little, day by day, is most exhilarating. So as I listen to Silas mimic his sister and brother, singing Our God is an Awesome God, slurring and melding the words he doesn’t know all together, my heart and my mouth echo his praise…
OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!
(pictures of life at home coming soon...we are missing our camera charger and sadly the battery is dead!)
16 March 2011
countin hours now
painting ugandan-style
ok, maybe it's just maela-style
silly faces
silas and naomi have had a long 3 weeks too, moving several times, traveling around the city strapped to daddy's back, clinging to his chest, or wrapped around his shoulders like the little monkeys they are. they have grown closer, the three of them, and begun to understand each other in new ways. bonds are morphing from the liquid stage to more of a jello-like consistency and they are learning that despite all the change, daddy is a constant.
noah found this little nest with two bright blue eggs
two boys very disappointed to be out of the pool
if we can burden our faithful prayer warriors once again to lift up our children's hearts before the throne of the Father of adoption...there are wounds, fears, and discontentments growing despite their tender years, and if we are being truly honest our not-so young hearts are struggling in the same exact ways. adoption is hard, and 4 years didn't prepare us for the ugly we would see welling up from the depths of our own souls. we desire to honor the Father and direct our children towards His face. our family is on the road of sanctification and we know He will be faithful...despite our unfaithfulness and failings.
big brother showing his siblings how to properly suck on a ring pop
some early moments
reassuring silas around the dogs...many ugandan children are told that dogs will eat them if they are bad so most fear them with their lives, something we are working on
14 March 2011
free slaves
what is it about life that causes us to think we are in charge? where do we get off trying to take control? and why, every time, are we blown out of the water when it just doesn't go as we planned? is God's Word that mysterious? is His love for us so hidden we fail to see His best for us? has He not adequately demonstrated that His ways are not man's ways and that He works ALL things together for the good of those who love Him?
first time swimming...he giggles, squealed and splashed for the longest time
....or are we just sinful....
enter emphatic YES!!!!!
beautiful harvest at the market we went to several times each week in Mbarara
sin is blinding, paralyzing, deceiving, and allows us to be painfully unaware of the Truth. the head and the heart disconnect, emotions run wild, and before we know it sin has taken control of our being....but then....
FREEDOM!
the "lizard" wisperer and his one of his precious geckos
wrapped in craig's arms, silas makes his trip home with us
the words are just starting to come...the last 7 weeks have been beyond anything we had imagined or been prepared for. craig has now been in uganda with the kids, waiting for visas for 3 weeks alone. we have been through the Refiners fire in that time, but never burned. we have been pressed down, but never destroyed. we have been stretched, but never torn. because He who started this work is faithful and never abandons His children....more to come as we continue to reflect and pull it together.
i wish i could explain the sounds and faces that girl can make with those lips...it's truly amazing
for now, we still wait. visas this week? we have more hope than ever before
the miracle we are asking for....that visas will be given tomorrow when craig goes to the embassy at 10 am kampala time (that's midnight california time). he, silas and naomi could get on the plane later that night and be home by wednesday evening. what JOY that would be!!!
sweet girl in her pink tutu suit. new favorite maela phrase (^ = short pause): mom^i'm^feezing!
so we wait, claiming our FREEDOM as slaves to the King, clinging to the HOPE of eternal bounty...and longing to be in one anothers arms again, finally
11 March 2011
Introducing the newest members of the VanderStoep Family!!!
Yes, they have new names and there is a story behind each one that we are not going to share here to be sensitive to them and others, but they love their names and we are all getting used to them.
Naomi Brianne Rose VanderStoep
(Brianne is Jen's sister's middle name, and Rose was Naomi's birth mother's name)
Silas John Bahetti VanderStoep
(John for Jen's dad, and Bahetti is Silas' second Ugandan name)
A few of the sweet moments from our time as a family in Uganda, ones we really cherish...learning to love and grow together.
Noah protectively holding his new baby sister. He adores her and she obviously is enamored with him too.
Mommy and her girls!
Sweet tickles!
Our first afternoon with Silas staying with us. He would not put those shoes down and couldn't get enough hugs.
Greeting Daddy when he returned from a trip to the market.
Wet kisses in pretty pink swim suits.
Silas picked me this flower his first day home with us.
Getting a ride in the "toy box"
Daddy reading bed time stories to ALL 4 on the bed...well trying, at least.
Fun cuddles outside
06 March 2011
The Bumpy Road
As you might have guessed, life has not been as we expected...but that is the beauty of God's plan; it is never what we expect, and always greater than we could have imagined. HIS road is not always easy though, and we are experiencing that in a very real way right now.
Life is hard, but full. There are struggles, but bountiful blessings. We are all adjusting and sifting through the emotions that have arisen with the many changes that have come in the last 6 weeks. (This is the explaination for our lack of blogging, we really thought we would do it much more often, but soaking in and dealing with the fullness of daily life was the priority...but our apologies all the same.)
After 4 long weeks living in Uganda as a family of 6 (plus wonderful Alexa), Craig made the decision to send some of us home. I had been sick for several weeks and was not seeming to get better; Noah and Maela were healthy and doing really well, but it was apparant it was time to bring them home as well. So Alexa and I packed up all we could, leaving Craig with just the necessities, and headed home. It was a terrible, tearful goodbye - we really had not anticipated splitting up our family for any part of this journey, but God led Craig to this decision and it was the right one.
So we are home, recouperating (I ended up with walking pneumonia), and getting over jet-lagg. We have enjoyed wearing cozy sweats in this cold weather and drinking water right out of the tap. But our thoughts are with Craig constantly and it's hard to fully partake in some of the conveniences of life here at home knowing he is still living in Africa. I am trying to unpack, get through the laundry, make some meals for the freezer, and get a little head start on figuring out how to run my home with the coming changes.
Craig has not had internet for a while now, but we are able to talk frequently on the phone. He and the kids are doing well and staying somewhere comfortable that makes life a little easier for him than where we were beforehand. There's a lot of stories he is eager to share and even more of God's grace on our family we are excited to praise Him for...all that to come.
Monday is a big day (tomorrow!). Craig will turn the final paperwork (written ruling and passports) in to the US Embassy and will hopefully get an estimated time as to when the kids' visas will be issued so they can travel home. (That's all we are waiting for now!)
So until we have some more news and are ready to share the good stuff, here are some pictures of our time there. Thank you for all your prayers and faithful support of our family. We are so grateful for our loving family and friends...God has used your words and encouragement, meals and phone calls to bless us richly.
The water and power were off for a while so Maela got a bath in this little tub of water I heated up on the stove. She LOVED it!
A small hut on the side of the road.
Our baby girl's little brown toes. They look so tiny on Craig's hand.
Danise, her family lived behind the house we stayed in. She spent a lot of time with our family and we enjoyed showing her American things, like coloring, bubbles, and suckers.
Our little man, sweeping and wearing one of Daddy's socks, two of his favorite things! I know...such a helper AND a sharp dresser! (That sock went all the way up to his hip when pulled tight.)
Nothing like a morning ring-pop to start the day!
Alexa was always faithful to jump in and help with the kids...or maybe she just enjoyed doing/eating what they were! We all miss her very much!
Check out the new hair-do! Tiny braids all over her little head...so cute! This is Stephen, our good friends' son. He loved playing with her.
Exploring a monument to the king of an old Ugandan tribe.
Alexa and Precious playing with baby kittens in our back yard.
Some artifacts in the king's tomb.
Climbing on the king's tomb...hmmm, not sure how respectful that was, but they sure had fun!
Oh yes, he did! Noah was catching chickens all the time! He told me he was going to hold this one until it laid an egg...we had to have a little lesson on how that works.
Our fist morning as a family of 6. I think we were skyping with someone too (Craig looks like he is mid-sentence with the computer in front of him.) Can you sense a little of the choas????
Can you resist those rolls and that grin?
More coming of our trip to Kampala soon!!!
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