Growing Up

We'll it's been a few days since we've sent an update. Things are going well here in Uganda. Sunday we went with James (our driver) to Watoto Church. The music was amazing! We can't wait to go again. Eli did so well during church. He did fall asleep 1/2 way through and it got a little hot at that point, but we really enjoyed worshiping with so many others. They'll be hosting a Christmas Cantata later on in the month and we're excited about it. 

The Harding's (Kathy & Nigel) who we are staying with, have been an absolute God-Send! We are so very blessed to be in their home and to enjoy such wonderful fellowship with them and their son, Emmanuel, and the housekeepers (Richard, Robert & Christine). The home cooked meals at night have been my favorite part :) I can't imagine going out to eat every single night. The weather here has been nice. I've even had to put on my socks and a long sleeve shirt at night. It's not that it's that cold here (because it's not cold at all) but the wind & the fan allows for a nice cool evening. We still must sleep under nets every single night. Eli's net over his crib is somewhat of a sign for him, that it's time for bed and to go to sleep. 

Eli had to go to the doctor today and get a shot. He didn't like it one bit (nor did I). His leg was a little swollen this afternoon and he was very, VERY fussy. But we got him some meds that Mrs. Kathy suggested and he went from grumpy to happy in just a short time period. We've realized the more we feed him, the happier he is. So we fee him a lot right now. This makes for messy diapers (and messy bathtubs sometimes) but we're so grateful that he is eating well, enjoying it and growing. He weighed in at  19.4 pounds today. 

Tomorrow we will be getting ready for Sarah and packing for our trip out west to visit Eli's orphanage. It's a very long trip but we will end up at Mweya Lodge at Queen Elizabeth's which will be well worth the long trip. 

Remember that tomorrow is when we are suppose to get our ruling from our Judge. Please say a prayer for the entire situation before you go to bed tonight. Pray specifically that we receive a favorable ruling. We'd really like a verbal and written ruling at the same time, but most common is the verbal ruling first and the written ruling later. 

​Family of 3 in Uganda, 

Jamie, Paul & Eli 

Court & Dirty Diapers

Most of you are still sleeping... including Eli, he is taking a nap right now. 

Wanted to give you all a quick update from yesterday and how Eli is doing. 

Yesterday was very long. We woke up early at 6am and got ready for James to pick us up around 7:40am. Then we made our way to our Attorney as we were scheduled to be there by 9am. Upon arriving we got to meet our attorney, along with her wonderful staff. Then we had the opportunity to meet the witnesses in our case. 

We made our way to the courthouse around 12pm. We were hoping to be seen between 2pm - 3pm. But our Judge left and he did not return until 6pm and finally we were seen at 6:30pm. I won't be going over details of court in this email or on the blog. They will be left for us to share personally as we see you all. Court was over around 7:30pm. It took us awhile to get home as we dropped off our Attorney, dropped off the Sister, got some dinner and then made our way back home. We are expected to receive a ruling on Wed. We will keep you all posted as we hear something. But please don't be alarmed if we are not able to get the update to you right away. This is normal practice in Uganda. Please continue to pray. The ruling is very important and we must have it verbally & in writing before we can proceed to the next step. 

Although the day was very long, Eli was amazing! He played the entire time with both Paul & I. He was extremely talkative the whole day. We were certain that he'd be crashing as soon as we got home, but he stayed up in his crib just playing and talking for about an hour. He's had some issues with not going to the bathroom as frequently as we'd like. And so we were very concerned that these "issues" would relieve themselves while at court yesterday. So we all had an extra change of clothes, just in case. Although there were no accidents at court, when we woke up this morning we were beginning to get concerned about him not going. But then shortly after waking up, he went. YAY for dirty diapers!

Today (Saturday) is the first day we will be staying home all day and not doing anything but hanging out. We have been waiting for a day like this since we left the U.S. on Sunday. We are finally washing some bottles, clothes, and cleaning up our area. Sending you all updates, returning emails & face booking of course. We are also preparing for Sarah Idsardi to be jointing us on Wednesday night and our travels to the Babies Home on Thursday (which is a 6 hour trip).

Please don't forget that there are 3 other families here with us in Uganda. They are not staying at the same place, but we visit with them often. Please keep them in your prayers as well. Each of them have special prayer requests as they have all met their new additions and are in the process of bonding as well. 

Riding Around Town

Most of our day was spent in the car riding around town. Eli & I sat in the back while Daddy & James were in the front. We went to Parliament (which is where we got a family photo which is required by the judge), the Tombs (also required by the judge), Eli got a little fussy at the tombs, but James (one of our drivers) was AMAZING with him. He fed him, knew when to change his diaper, knew when he needed his face wiped, knew what foods to buy for him... he was AMAZING & a pure Godsend! We also went to the grocery store and got some food. We've had nothing but pizza since we've been here and have had to skip out on lunch several times. So now we have some lunch meat & bread for some sandwiches. Today we conquered Eli's feeding schedule, good feeding schedule = happy baby. He fussed only when he wanted food but other than that he did great. He began to play in the bathtub today, splashing around and when we got him all dried up... we finally started to get some smiles & giggling out of him. He definatly likes playing more with Paul than I, and he cries every time Paul leaves the room. But I'm the one that feeds & changes him, so he always comes back to me :) 

Kathy & Nigel (who we are staying with) are fantastic. They made chicken, rice, and some veggies for us tonight and we even had some fresh fruit. Eli had some of the mangos and loved them. We really enjoyed eating with their family. We plan to continue to do so as much as possible. It helps keep Eli on his schedule, even though we'd like to be adventurous... routine routine routine is sooo important right now. 

We'll be going to visit with some of the other families tomorrow. Then we'll be getting ready to prepare for court. Very nervous about Friday and my anxiety level is already high even though it's only Wednesday. Please just say a special prayer when you go to bed on Thursday night as we will be waking up on Friday and preparing for a very important day. God is in control and we believe that he has already gone before us to pave the way... I just have to keep telling my mind and stomach these truths :) Much easier said than done. Court can be very very long (4-7 hours). Please pray for Eli to be calm and settled. When he is calm I usually am, but as soon as he gets fussy, I start to panic some. 

Last bit of exciting news... Sarah Idsardi is coming next weekend. We can't wait to see her! Eli is excited as well (he just doesn't know it yet :)

I'm receiving each one of your emails, and I enjoy reading them all. But because of limited wifi it is very difficult to email back. Maybe when things settle down, I will. But for now, please continue to pray!!! 

Leaving on a Jet Plane... Don't know when we'll be back again!

Our bags are packed and we are ready to go. 

We leave tomorrow morning at 11:10am from Tampa, arrive at JFK, then off to Brussels, then last stop, Entebbe, Uganda, arriving at 10:30pm (Uganda time) on Monday. 

A few dates & times to remember:

1. We are 8 hours ahead of you all (at least most of you)

2. Tues at 2pm (Uganda Time) 6am (Florida time) we will meet Eli for the first time!!!! 

3. Court is scheduled for Friday (not sure on the time yet). 

Please pray tomorrow & Monday for our travels, Tuesday for everything about that day, and Friday that court goes smoothly. 

We will see you all when we get back. Thank you all for your prayers, please don't stop. We still need them each and every day that we are gone.

Leaving as 2, coming back as 3!!! Thank you Jesus for allowing us this opportunity. 

Call On Me

Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 

While our prayers have been many and some days it has been a struggle to keep praying for the exact same thing, God has heard each and every one of them. Our journey to Eli has had it's ups & downs and today we learned our journey has been extended for another month, possibly two. 

We trust that His timing is perfect even though we don't understand why. 

Our family is sad that we won't be spending the holiday's with our little guy but we also know that he is in good hands. He now has 1 tooth and is working on a 2nd. He's up to 17 pounds but not crawling yet. 

We pray that we now receive a court date in January and ask that you continue to pray for our Eli, our spirits, and our new judge (whoever that may be).

Encouraging Others

In approximately 3-4 hours it will be Monday morning in Uganda, the beginning of another week. We ask that you continue to pray that we will receive a court date soon, along with the other 3 families waiting.

So I've considered sending this post several times, but for whatever reason, I decided not to. But there were 2 confirmations on Saturday that have caused me to change my mind and share with all of you. 

We have been praying for "our" Eli for quite some time now. And while we've been delayed in our process for various reasons, we have been blessed. We've been blessed to know that he is taken care of by Mrs. Elizabeth and the others at his foster home. We have been blessed to have 2 amazing families visit with him, play with him and send pictures and videos to us of him. We've been blessed to know that he is healthy and growing. And at no point have we had to worry, we've just had to patiently wait. Wait on God's timing. And this whole time we've done this waiting, right here in the comfort of our own home. 

Several weeks ago I was sharing Eli's story with a couple. They asked to receive the email updates on Eli and after they received their first update, I received an email back from them that shared about another Eli they were praying for. You see, Elijah McDonald, was born September 16th, at only 23 weeks and way before his due date. His parents were prayerful that God would grant healing to his body. It was such a wake up call for me... Jamie, you may be waiting for your Eli, but you are not waiting in the hospital. Now, pray not only for "your" Eli but for the McDonald's Eli as well. And so I began praying for both Eli's. (You can read of Eli's story at www.elialmighty.wordpress.com - Warning to the ladies: May Cause Tears.)

But a few weeks ago, Eli went to be with his maker. His family is in Michigan, grieving through the process. But they have been a testament to God's peace, healing and understanding. They have remained faithful to Him, the creator, our Heavenly Father.

Throughout reading the story of "their" Eli, I've considered sharing with you all. But each time, I chose not to. Maybe because I felt like I've introduced too many different families to you already. Secondly, because I don't know the McDonald family myself. 

But then as I scrolled down through the blog and was just about to close out the screen, there it read, Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." As you all know, this is printed on our adoption shirts. This has been a verse that we have clung to, knowing that God has a plan for our Eli. And he also has a plan for the McDonald family. And so I decided I should introduce you all to this family. Share "their" Eli's story. And ask that you all consider being apart of their healing process.

Here comes the second confirmation... I thought, what greater way to encourage this family than sending some words of encouragement... Who doesn't love to get snail mail?! And today, I got just that... a card via snail mail telling me I was covered in prayers. "Your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul." - Psalm 94:18-19 

Many of you are capable of writing a letter, note, card or simply jot down some scripture. Many of you have experienced the loss of a child and you know what this feels like, your stories are impactful. Words of encouragement are powerful! 

Simply put, here is how you can be an encouragement to this family you don't know, but you know needs love, encouragement & prayers: Write a note or card with words of encouragement or scripture. Mail to me by November 20th (all your cards will be sent in 1 care package to the McDonald family on November 21st, next Thursday). 

Lastly, thank you all for letting me share these families with you and ultimately sharing "our" Eli's story with you. It is so amazing how God intertwines our lives and stories with others that we may not know but are still family, brothers & sisters in Christ. Your words of encouragement, prayers... both privately & publicly from all ages, have been a testament to the extended family we have in Christ and a true blessing to know Eli is being lifted up in prayer. 

He Hears Us

Today marks 2 years since God began this journey of adoption in our lives "officially". It also happens to be our wedding anniversary as well. And Friday will mark 4 months since we've been matched with Eli. Never did I think I'd be sending so many updates over the last 2 months. We were certain we would be in Uganda by now. But God has other plans for us. Plans we are unsure of, but plans we are trusting in. 

Today's request is simple, we need your prayers. We, along with 3 other families... we are waiting, and have been waiting, and are still waiting, for a court date. We all have a judge, we all have our little ones just waiting on us, and we all really want to get that phone call soon. 

So over the next 2 days and as you gather in your churches tonight, please specifically pray for our court dates (The Samuel's, The Caines', The Brown's, and The Goggin's). We are expecting MIGHTY THINGS TO HAPPEN. This mean, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and many other states will be entering into prayer together bringing our petitions to the Lord to have his hand on these adoptions and in his perfect timing, bringing our children home. 

It is only through these prayers and other words of encouragement that are keeping us strong. 

We received such a precious note from someone in our neighborhood the other day (see below), we've been told of families coming together with their children and praying for us, and even school children in Kenya lifting up our family. So often when I pray, it feels like I'm the only one praying for Eli. And as I get weary in waiting for his perfect timing, all of your kind emails, text messages, handwritten notes, fb comments, etc... they have reminded me of my extended family in Christ and that we are not alone. 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14