The Empty Chair is FILLED

November is National Adoption Month

2011-11-04T09:42:00.001-05:00

It's National Adoption Month and we have had some great opportunities this week to tell our family's adoption story. On Monday, Mary and I shared with the MOPS group at our church. On Wednesday, Mary shared with a MOPS group in Monroe. Last night, I got to share with our students about adoption and talk about our adoption as children of God. At the beginning of worship, we showed this video. It gets us every time!

Also, randomly, we are one of the featured adoptive families in the November issue of Red River Moms--on page 21, if you're interested.

We are just so thankful for all the conversations we get to have about Gideon and God's work in our lives. Hopeful that God will continue to use our lives and little Gideon (& Jonah & Seth & Abram) for His glory!

P.S. I changed the "About" section of our blog to reflect current reality!!!

Support the Ribbens

2011-10-21T00:32:00.001-05:00

When we were in Uganda, we had the privilege of sharing a house with some great families. As you can imagine, we got to know these families pretty well and fast. The shared experience of Ugandan adoption helped us gain some great friends. One of these families...Andy & Sara Ribbens have been in Uganda for about 7 months and are still there trying to finalize the legal guardianship of their daughter.

Another one of our former housemates, Stephanie, has decided to make and sell ornaments to help support the Ribbens. You can help the Ribbens by buying one (or more) of these ornaments at Stephanie's blog HERE: 1 for $12 or 2 for $20.

Please help our friends bring their daughter home. Thanks!

A treehouse...sort of

2011-10-17T23:06:00.002-05:00

A while back I trimmed some branches from a tree in our yard. Take the branches, add a ladder, a folding chair and some random junk from the garage and TADA...you have a fort!

See, even Gideon gets in on the action! We are so thankful for our boys and how Gideon has transitioned so well into our family. Can't imagine life without him!

Happy First Birthday, Gideon!!

2011-08-13T22:59:00.005-05:00

I believe that I have now overcome my case of blogging fatigue! And the big news that has pulled us back into the blogosphere is that Gideon is now ONE! His birthday was yesterday, August 12 and, unfortunately, we all had to celebrate by taking a 16-hour van ride from Glorieta, NM. I think we'll bust out the cake tomorrow. OH, we recently took some new family pics. Here I am with my little men.
To catch you all up to speed....Gideon has transitioned so very well since arriving home on May 28. In a nutshell, he's sleeping through the night, eating well, and growing on pace with his others his age.

When we returned from Uganda, he was scooting. It wasn't long that he was crawling and NOW he's been walking for about 2 or 3 weeks. I mean REALLY walking. He loves to get around!

Little Gideon loves his brothers, and the feeling is mutual--except for a little jealous acting out by Abram from time to time. The boys play well together and Gideon responds especially well to big brother Jonah. Jonah likes lending a helping hand with his littlest bro.

We couldn't be happier with our little gang of boys. Life here is tiring and crazy but oh so sweet. Looking forward to what this next year holds for our littlest man!

Arrival Video

2011-06-08T10:32:00.005-05:00

For some reason, I just saw this video for some reason. Thanks to Allen Hendrix for being there to capture this moment and for posting it on our Facebook Group!

The Chair is Filled from J. Allen Hendrix on Vimeo.

LOTS OF LOVE!!

2011-05-29T21:55:00.003-05:00

Just had to post this picture of the boys!! Since Jamey & Gideon got home, it has been all smiles and love!! The boys are so proud of their new brother!! Thank you, Jesus!!

HOMECOMING!!!

2011-05-27T08:22:00.001-05:00

Just heard from Jamey.....VISA IS DONE!!! Jamey & G are coming home. They will be in Shreveport around 6 PM tomorrow night!! Praise God!!! We are so thankful!!

Packing.

2011-05-26T14:35:00.002-05:00

I'm packing right now. I'm packing even though I don't know for sure if I will leave tomorrow. First thing in the morning I will wait outside of the US Embassy for one piece of paper that I need. I will then go into the Embassy and talk VERY nicely to the people who will decide if I get my visa tomorrow. If I get the visa, our flight will leave at 1130pm and I'll arrive in Shreveport at about 530pm on Saturday--a mere 27 hours of traveling. The fact that it is even a possibility for me to leave tomorrow is a miracle. Whether I leave tomorrow or have to wait another week, God's hand is very evident. I'm anxious and hopeful and thankful.

Visa Update

2011-05-25T13:06:00.003-05:00

I anxiously awaited Gideon's Ugandan passport all day today--it never came and I thought that I would have to delay my visa appointment until next Wednesday. However, our contact at the Embassy told me to come back as soon as I had the passport. I heard from our attorney that he got it late this afternoon. SOOOOO...I'm going in the morning to give it another shot. Still shooting for a Friday departure. We'll see. Please pray!

Ready to say goodbye to....

2011-05-24T13:42:00.003-05:00

One of the challenges of being away from home for so long is that you have to make due with what you have. I mean, you can only fit so much in your suitcase. I need to preface this with the fact that I am very thankful for the things I have here at my disposal--I'm not trying to be a complainer! That begin said, I am ready to say goodbye to....

The Bumbo seat. Bumbo, you have come in handy when it's time to give my little guy some baby food BUT I'm so sick of having to sit on the floor and wrestle Gideon to sit still. Why can't you magically transform yourself into a high chair so I can strap my little guy in and feed him at eye level! While you're at it, can you make high chairs appear at all the restaurants in Kampala. Eating is always better when you can use two hands. Goodbye...boiling bottles EVERYDAY. Bottles, I am sick of you. I know I need you but I'm tired of looking at you. Why are there only 4 of you? Where are all your friends? Why can't there be more of you so I don't have to boil you EVERYDAY? And finally....GOODBYE (hopefully soon) Baby Bjorn. I will not miss the aching back you give me. I will not miss the sweat spot you leave on my shirt. I will not miss the kicks in the crotch. Goodbye and good riddance!

Gross. Not Gross. (part 2)

2011-05-23T13:11:00.002-05:00

These are grasshoppers. This is food here in Kampala--not bait, not lizard food, people food. There is actually a street that several guys stand alongside with big buckets full of these cooked grasshoppers for your enjoyment. Gross. My friend Josh bought some and we gave then a try.
Josh actually cooked them again--lightly breaded them, stir fried them, and added salt. The Southern way! I tried them before we cooked them and after we cooked them.

The taste was described to me as a juicy french fry. The description is actually pretty accurate. After we recooked them, they were just crispy like an overcooked french fry. In all honesty, they were not that bad. Not good enough for me to go back for seconds though.

Don't you love the fact that Gideon is checking out what I'm eating! On the same night, my housemates made Mexican food--at least our closest Ugandan approximation. NOT Gross! Somebody had even found some tortilla chips at one of the grocery stores. It was quite the feast.

Still praying that I will get my passport tomorrow so I can head home on Friday.

Muyenga Baptist.

2011-05-22T12:58:00.002-05:00

Gideon and I were able to worship again today at Muyenga Baptist Church. The church is just about a 15 minute walk from our guest house--a short but hilly walk!
I think I mentioned before that the church is on the side of one of the hills here. From the doors and windows you have a great 180 degree view over the surrounding area. This little guy is playing one of the drums used for worship.

It's funny...African men do NOT take care of children. So I often have African women trying to take Gideon and care for him. They're just trying to help. Even the kids try to lend a hand. The girl with the white earrings is Grace. She is the pastor's daughter. She has sat by me for the past two Sundays. She really likes Gideon. She is very sweet.

Here she is dancing with Gideon after the service. Isn't he big stuff.

Here I am with my new friend Edson. He is a college student. He lives and helps out at the BMU where I am staying. He goes to this church and has been my host for these past two weeks. I've really enjoyed getting to know him. He's a great guy....helps me stay connected to college students!!

Pray that I would be able to get Gideon's passport by Tuesday. This is the vital step to insure that I will be able to leave on Friday. Otherwise, I'll have to wait another week.

More Gideon pix.

2011-05-21T13:23:00.002-05:00

Yeah, he's a cutie!

Welcome to the family!

2011-05-20T13:00:00.003-05:00

While we still have the adoption process to finalize in the US, as of today, we have legal guardianship of our Gideon. He is officially a part of our family! Now we can post all the pictures we want of the little guy...thought I would start at the beginning. This is a picture of the very first time we met Gideon at the Babies Home. Mary me him first and he was a bit apprehensive with both of us. He kept checking us out...looking us up and down.
I looked a bit rough. We arrived only a few hours earlier after a 30-something hour trip to Uganda. BUT we were so excited to meet this little guy that we couldn't wait.

This was a few days later when we were out and about...only 1/2 of the family. Looking forward to reuniting with the other half.

We still have some things that have to be done before we get home but these things are not "if" things but "when" things. Hopeful that everything will fall into place and I will be on a flight next Friday. We'll keep you posted. Wonderful day!

Hopeful.

2011-05-19T14:51:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is our ruling date. This is where the judge will tell us his decision. We are counting on a positive ruling but will not take that for granted. Please pray and I hope to bring good news tomorrow.

Hello. I am your brother.

2011-05-18T13:47:00.003-05:00

It was a whirlwind the four days right before we left for Uganda. In the middle of all the chaos, the boys wrote these notes to their new brother. Jonah was the first...we attached his pic after he gave it to us. This was totally unsolicited.
How awesome is that? Next is Abram's. We had to give him a little help with his.

Super sweet. Finally, there's Seth.

He included an illustration:

And this is my favorite part....

" I AM SETH"....just thought you should know Gideon. Can't wait for all these guys to meet in person!

Good News.

2011-05-17T13:31:00.002-05:00

Fourth time's a charm! Saw the judge today and have a ruling scheduled for Friday. It was an exhausting experience and I'm thankful that it's over. I'm celebrating by eating some oreos that I bought today. Good times.

Court tomorrow.

2011-05-16T14:00:00.002-05:00

Praying that court tomorrow morning goes smoothly. Have to get going by 730am. Court time at 930am. Just another step on the journey.

Worship.

2011-05-15T13:08:00.005-05:00

I'm still getting to know the area around the guest house I'm staying at now. Found out that there's a church I could walk to. I didn't know if I wanted to brave getting out with G in the heat and sitting through a couple of hours of a service. Glad I did. The church I had been to before was very large. Today I went to Muyenga Baptist Church. Much smaller but sweet congregation.

The church was literally on the side of a hill up a dirt path. This is the view from the road!

Also, you had to pass an old quarry to get to the church. This picture does not do justice to just how deep it was. The green dot that look like moss or something are acutally big lily pads on the pond at the bottom of the cliff.

On the homefront, we found a snail on the wall of our patio. It was huge. We think the little trail at the top (bottom?) of the snail is a trail of poop. Disgusting and fascinating.

Finally, one of the girls who had been staying at the guest house flew out today and left behind a partial pack of nutty bars. Now, Mary knows how much I like these. That's why we usually dont buy them! Needless to say it was a nice treat!

Repost.

2011-05-14T13:50:00.003-05:00

I don't usually repost or forward things that I read BUT tonight I will make an exception. I recently read a post from a blog I follow that connects orphan care to being pro life. It's worth a read.

Oh, today was Abram's birthday party so I got to skype with them while he blew out the candles. Pretty awesome. Not as awesome as being there, but good. Don't know why I'm posting this picture. Just found it and I don't think I've posted it yet. I wonder what the guys behind us are saying?

Thank you, Inventor of Skype.

2011-05-13T22:12:00.004-05:00

Thank you, Skype Inventor.....

Okay, so Jamey is usually the one chronicling his African adventures, or lack there of, with each daily post. So, while he is sleeping on the other side of the globe, I figured I would give it a go.

I'll give you some perspective from my end, pretty much the same every day......looking at my husband and son...or the boys looking at their father and sometimes their baby brother through a computer screen. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for phones, but being able to actually see the person you are talking with is MUCH better!! Abram often kisses and or tries to hug the screen...very cute.

I never skyped until now.

We are all having a good time seeing and hearing Jamey & Gideon through skype...unless there is a power outage in Uganda.....which happens frequently. I remember being on the other side of the screen.....looking at 3 of my boys through the computer, seeing my living room in the background. It made me sad every time I saw it, longing to be home. Jamey is my hero because for 6 weeks now that is all he has seen of 3 of his boys and for the last 3 weeks all he has seen of me....and home.

God is good....every time I skype I am reminded of God's goodness and his ability to sustain even in the difficult times. He provides peace and comfort through just being able to communicate daily with my husband, best friend, and father of our 4 boys!!

Seth asked me the other day if we could skype Jesus. I told him that is what prayer is for. :)

Gross. Not Gross.

2011-05-13T14:06:00.002-05:00

This is the bottom of my foot. This is what my feet look like at the end of every day. Gross. It's to the point that my feet are actually semi-stained. Thank you Africa.
These are two of my new favorite drinks that I have discovered while in Uganda. NOT gross. I recently discoverd Lemon with Mint and it's very tasty--it's either from India or the Middle East--but either way, more please! And I have enjoyed passion fruit juice from the first moment I tasted it--I even found a Passion Fruit Fanta. Hard to find the boxes of juice, though. I have to pace myself because I can go through a box very quickly.

Also, NOT gross are Sweet & Spicy Chutney Lays. From India?? Don't care. Want more!

If I have more days where I don't get off the compound, you'll keep getting posts about food. Fair warning!

Looking forward.

2011-05-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

Got to have a long conversation with Mary today. Refreshing. I miss that lady.

We told the boys before I left that we would all take a family vacation this summer since we didn't take the boys with us to Uganda AND we've spent so much time apart. Mary said that Jonah's been reminding her that we said that. SO, we are trying to figure out a place and time to go. It's exciting to think about getting away to a place that is NOT Uganda. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate all that I have been learning about Uganda and how it's become my home away from home. BUT, it's going to be nice to spend time together as a WHOLE family. Any suggestions?

Slow day in Uganda. Had to walk into the yard at 5pm just to say that I had gotten out of the house today. The presidential inauguration was today so we stayed close to home to avoid crowds, protests, and any nonsense that might be occurring in the city. I enjoy the peace and quiet that I'm experiencing but I look forward to the chaos of my home--all the boys talking to me simultaneously, jumping, wrestling...you get the picture. Can't wait.

By the way, my webcam has some weird effects...I randomly implement these when I'm skyping with the boys. For example....

I know...I'm really cool!

New Creation.

2011-05-11T13:02:00.005-05:00

In the last few days our Jonah has expressed an interest in making Christ his Savior and being baptized. He has been asking questions for awhile--it's neat to see how understanding has unfolded in his heart--AND that God will continue to work to mold him into the person He wants.

We have imagined this time for awhile. I'm excited but wish I was there to speak with him face to face. It's been good to talk with him over Skype and Mary's been talking with him. Mary and I have tried to strike a balance between talking frequently about following Christ with our kids while still allowing them to arrive at the place of salvation in their own time. It can be a tough balance to strike. Praise God that He works in spite of us!

My prayer for Jonah (I read this today):

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeaurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the work of His vast strength.
Ephesians 1:17-19

The big move.

2011-05-10T14:45:00.003-05:00

I've been in Uganda for 5 1/2 weeks. We spent one week at the babies home and then 4 1/2 weeks at the Bridge Africa guest house. Time for the next chapter. Moved to the Baptist Mission of Uganda today. The straw that broke the camel's back is that the guest house didn't have water for 3 days. So I packed up....
It was actually sad to leave a place that I had developed such a routine in. Oh well, I have the next 3 weeks to develop a new routine before I head home. The saddest part was saying goodbye to this fan. It is capable of blowing your face off...it's awesome.

The gardner at the BMU planned a very special welcome for me. He built me a giant bonfire to say "hello". Ok, so he was just tidying up the property but look at the size of this fire. This would be a no-no in the city back home. Perfectly fine in Kampala. People are burning stuff all the time.

Check out the shirt that I put on Gideon today. He's my little buddy right now. Where I go, he goes. Good to spend this time with him. Also ready for him to have some mommy-time as well...just as much, I would like some daddy time with the other boys.

Blog Fatigue

2011-05-09T13:21:00.004-05:00

Today was a good day! Got out and about...no sitting around the house today! We're all exhausted. Don't really know what to blog about today: I bought some groceries, I ate some food, I washed some clothes...mundane stuff.

BTW, just found out that Thursday has been declared a Ugandan public holiday for the inauguration of the president. One of the families is scheduled to have a court date on Thursday. Praying it won't affect their date or ours.

Having to make some decisions today about staying at my current guest house or moving to a new one...pros and cons for both. Will decide tomorrow. Here's where I'm thinking about moving to:Just drank a Coca Cola Light in a bottle..very good. (also ate a twix)

Come home from our day out to no power in the house...came back on just before putting G down for bed. Hope he sleeps better than he did last night.

Got to meet some more IMB missionaries today.

Ok, so always something to blog about!

Special Occassion Double Dose

2011-05-08T14:15:00.003-05:00

It's not often that you get to celebrate two big days in one! Today is May 8, the day that Abram James Droddy entered the world. I am so thankful for this little guy. He's our only Louisiana-born kid..and I still remember that day so clearly. I remember the 8-day stay in the NICU and how tough that was. I remember how people always used to ask if he ever cried. He was such a sweet, pleasant baby (they don't ask that anymore, btw!).
Now, he has so much personality, especially as he tries to keep up with his big brothers. And CAN YOU BELIEVE HOW BIG THIS KID HAS GOTTEN IN 5 WEEKS-I mean, granted, it's been 5 weeks but c'mon, this guy is HUGE!

He's still not too big for some daddy hugs and I can't wait to give them. Hopefully soon. Until then, I'll keep calling and skyping and downloading pics that Mary sends. Look how huggable this guy is!

Can't forget Mothers's Day! I'm so thankful for my Mary. She is a wonderful wife and excellent mother. She is totally outnumbered in our house-o-boys but she holds her own. What a godly example she is to these fellas. Glad she and I get to herd these guys through life together. Thanks to our friends for helping the boys honor their mother while I'm away.

Day Trip--Bethany.

2011-05-07T13:20:00.003-05:00

Today, G and I went on a little adventure. There is a mission team from Alabama who arrived a couple of days ago (they brought me some formula and baby food--so thankful). As part of their trip, they were taking a trip to Bethany Children's Village, a ministry of Africa Renewal Ministry (the parent org of Loving Hearts Babies Home). They invited us to tag along. To get there, you can take a 2-hr taxi ride by land OR you can take a 30 min boat ride. Guess which choice we opted for? It was exciting to get out on Lake Victoria (second largest freshwater lake in the world, i found out today). Here's a fishing village on the shore that we passed on our journey. This is the only rural village I've seen so far since I've only really been in the city.
Bethany Children's Village is a pretty amazing ministry. They minister to orphaned and homeless children. There are 185 children living at the village in 11 different houses (the children are mostly between the ages of 10 and 19). Each house has a name given to it by the children who live there. This is Praise House. The man in the picture is Jimmy. He runs the day-to-day operations of the children's homes. He lives in one of the houses with his wife and 3 children, as well as 19 other children! I pray God's blessings on this man!!

This is Dennis. He runs the entire children's village and gave us our tour. First, he explained the overall vision of the village--very, very cool. They are trying to raise up next generation Christian leaders who will make an impact on Africa. Bethany has a church, a school, the children's homes, a clinic, and a farm (their goal is to be self-sustaining financially).

Not enough room to tell about all the things we saw. Was glad to visit! Here's the view from our boat coming back into the dock at Gaba.

Here's me looking crusty, sweaty, and dirty--I was all three of these things!

God is Faithful.

2011-05-06T13:13:00.002-05:00

Our guest house sits near the bottom of a hill, Bunga Hill to be exact. The Babies Home is at the top of the hill. We have made the walk from the bottom of the hill to the top SEVERAL times. I actually enjoy the path the walk takes us on. You wind behond our house and then you encounter this hill right before the pavement turns to a dirt road:

It's hard to capture in the picture but this is a hard hill to climb BUT it's very scenic. It's actually a nice walk. There are all kinds of trees and flowers along the road that we don't have back home. This tree is my favorite: Again, hard to capture how BIG this tree is but it's huge! No matter how many times I walk this hill, I always stop to look at this tree and the banana grove around it. (I finally remembered to bring my camera).

Just wanted to post this because I walked up to Loving Hearts today. I'm trying to remind myself that the adoption journey that we are on is tough. Trying to remember to keep trudging forward and enjoy the journey (no matter how long it is).

Also trying to avoid all the goats along the path--seriously, various kinds of livestock are everywhere here!
Well, new court date...May 17. New flight scheduled....May 27. Today marks 5 weeks in Uganda! Help us, God, to keep climbing forward!

Every Family has a Story!

2011-05-05T14:40:00.004-05:00

One of the blessing of this trip has been to meet other adoptive families. We have met several of these families who have been drawn to Uganda like we have. You would think that we would all have pretty similar stories BUT I have learned that every story, every case, every adoption is so very unique--I guess because the kids we are adopting are each so unique.

The first week we were in Uganda, we actually lived in the Babies Home where Gideon had been staying. And since then, for the past 4 weeks, we have been fortunate to share a house with 2 other couples. Before we came here we thought we would be doing a lot of things on our own BUT we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were surrounded by new friends going through the same things we have been.

So, pray for us, but also pray for the Caldwells and the Ribbens and many other families who are navigating the same process that we are! OH, you can read the Ribbens' story here.

As an update, we are still waiting for the judge to reschedule our (fourth) court date. He is also asking for some additional paperwork that we have already pulled together. Today, I rebooked my flight for 5/27! Yeah, I know, the 27th seems ridiculously far away BUT...well, I thought May 6th seemed far away when we left Shreveport on March 31! I'll keep you all posted.

This is a picture of our commune...I mean, house that we live in. Pretty nice, eh?

Prayer.

2011-05-04T14:35:00.003-05:00

Today is one of those days that I really want to write something profound and meaningful here to really express my thoughts....instead, I will post a picture of monkeys.
Pray that our judge reschedules our court date soon and that the lawyer strike would have no further effect. Pray that the details of rescheduling my flight would work out. Pray for opportunites to take advantage of the time I have here. Pray for my endurance. Pray especially for Mary as she holds down the fort and for the kids while I'm away.

The day after...

2011-05-03T13:15:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was so extremely busy....today was not! I didn't do much at all. The highlight of my day was walking 10 minutes down the road to a new grocery store to pick up a few things that I needed. Funny thing, the name of it is Cindrella Grocery--not CindErella, mind you...just Cindrella. I've been able to spend some good time reading my Bible and praying. Tonight, I took a stab at making a version of red beans and rice. I found some kind of pork sausage at the store. It was pretty good..no picture though. Speaking of pictures...I went back through some of my zoo pix because I knew I had taken a picture of one of the FREAKISHLY huge spiders--not part of an exhibit but just hanging in the trees. They were everywhere! Check it out.

No court today.

2011-05-02T15:26:00.002-05:00

It's been a long day and I'm kind of tired. Just wanted to post that, for the third time, our court date has been delayed. We arrived at the court house and waited in the judge's outer office only to find out that, because of a lawyer strike, the judge would not see us. Hope to hear something by Wednesday regarding a new date. I'll keep you posted.

Birthday Party + Easter, part 2

2011-05-01T15:02:00.002-05:00

Today, the daughter of one of our housemates had a birthday. She is one. So, we had a party. We also had an Easter egg hunt since we didn't do one on Easter.
As always, I have to show the food!! Here's a plate full of rolex. A rolex is a chapati (kind of like a think, tortilla) filled with egg and tomato and then rolled up. It's street food and it's good. We get them from a guy down the hill for 1000 shillings each (about .40).

Our friend and driver, David, had never hunted Easter eggs. They don't do that in Uganda. So, we told him he had to find all the blue eggs. Here he is finding one!

Also, MORE cupcakes! They were excellent!

So, G and I are headed to court tomorrow at 2:30 in the afternoon. Hope I'm able to post some excellent news tomorrow. Pray, pray, pray!

Laundry Day, part 2.

2011-04-30T12:54:00.002-05:00

Who knew laundry could be so exciting? Today we went to a place called BMU (Baptist Mission of Uganda)--actually not too far from our place. There they had...wait for it...a washer AND a dryer! Me and the other two families went to do a few loads.
Here they are...get excited!

This place was nice and had a great view--could see all around the area.

Kampala has a lot of neat flowers. Had not seen this one before.

AND they had a basketball court...not just one goal. We'll have to go back here!

While we were there I was able to meet a couple of IMB missionaries. Great to hear about some of the work happening here.

Our court date is this Monday. We got word from our lawyer that the riots might effect our court date. Everything is calm today. Hopefully won't be an issue.

A month ago today...

2011-04-29T14:11:00.003-05:00

What were you doing a month ago? Well, for us, we were arriving in the city of Kampala! This has been my city for the past month. I remember that first week...it was eye-opening to say the least. Once we got our bearings, things were better. I now at least feel comfortable here--I'm not saying that I've gotten used to power outages, taxi rides, boiling water, cold showers, etc, just that I understand how to function here. BUT a month in this city means a month away from the ones who mean the most to me. Here are some pics from the Shreveport airport a month ago. Wish I could hug these guys like I did on that day. There were tears then and, sometimes, there are tears now longing to be home with the fam! Hopefully soon!
Poor Jonah. His eyes were puffy from allergies. Hopefully not puffy now! BOO, pollen!

Sweet Seth with that winning smile. I love that smile.

I know that Abram has grown so much in a month. I can tell just by talking to him. I could give that guy a squish-you-guts hug right now!

Thankful for my family....and especially for my sweet, strong Mary. What a godly, awesome woman I have. She knows how to get it done and right now she's gettin' in done without me. I appreciate and love her very much. Just thought you might want to know!!

By the way, things in Kampala were a little crazy today. Riots, protests, tires burning in the streets. Nothing has really affected our immediate area but it has affected downtown which is where we have to go on Monday for our court date. Hopefully all will be well by then!

If they put me in the zoo...

2011-04-28T13:47:00.010-05:00

My housemates and I were thinking of ways to pass the time while we are all waiting....today we went to the zoo in Entebbe (about and hour away).

Below, you will see the crested crane...it's on Uganda's flag.

I like this friendly reminder from zoo management...notice the lion in the background.

This guy is feeding the chimpanzees. He sits on one side of a moat and hurls fruit and veggies to the chimps on the other side. It was awesome to watch.

Here are two of the chimps on the receiveing end. There were at least a dozen. Really cool.

Speaking of monkeys...on the way out we saw this guy on the roof of the welcome plaza. Yeah, that's right, monkeys roaming free, no cages. BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN AFRICA! It was so funny. He's pretty cute.

Yeah, they were really close. One of my housemates threw one a banana and they started coming from everywhere. They even followed us to our car in the parking lot. One even jumped up on my window. Crazy!

However, if there was ever an emergency caused by the monkeys or any other animal, all I would have to do is call this simple numb....I mean, one of these four simpl...I mean of one of these four, ten-digit numbers.......let's just not have an emergency!!

The zoo is located right along Lake Victoria. Here we are coming back from trying to find the giraffes. We only saw one little one in the distance. Good thing they had two life-size, anatomically correct giraffe statues in the parking lot. I'll spare you the picture.

In case you didn't know, rhinos are HUGE. AND I was pretty close to this one. I could have gotten even closer. The fence was just 3 rails that you could easily climb through. I chose not to.

Did I mention that I got to ride a camel? I could have ridden a donkey but the camel was a better choice. It was only about $.40 to ride. What a deal!

Gideon and I had a great day at the zoo. We'll see what tomorrow holds!

(Sorry for the formatting on this post. Blogger is doing crazy things!)

Progress.

2011-04-27T14:00:00.003-05:00

Found out today that we have a court date scheduled for Monday, May 2. As always, nothing is written in stone BUT this is definitely good news. Pray that things would begin to move!

OH--seems like every post lately has been about food. Well....tonight, I ate Italian; pizza, to be exact. It had spicy salami on it--it was the closest to pepperoni they had and it was VERY good.
The restaurant had a very small playground and it had a Little Tykes baby swing. I got to swing Gideon in it--he had a good time. Can't wait to share those pictures with everyone--hopefully soon.

Droddy Boys Day Out

2011-04-26T13:34:00.004-05:00

Each day that I'm here, I try to get out of the house at least once--mainly for my sanity! Usually it's just to walk down the hill to the small grocery store near us or to the Greek Restaurant that's nearby or up the hill to the Babies Home. Today one of the other families, me & Gideon reserved a driver and van and headed into Kampala with no real agenda--just to get out for the day. Our first stop was the Oasis Mall. Ok, so there are plenty of locals here BUT there is a definite appeal for foreigners! (i.e. a mzungu like me--this is what white people are called)

At the mall is a coffee shop (actually more of a restaurant) called:

It REALLY appeals to foreigners...they have good coffee and great food. I got a cafe au lait and a chocolate croissant. Both very delicious!

After spending way too much money at Nakumatt--kind of a Ugandan version of Wal-Mart--we tried a new restaurant....Chinese food, of all things! The name of the restaurant was:

It was actually a nice place--the food was just OK. Glad we went though. I was worn out afterward. Gideon was fussy and fidgety because he was tired. I think he must have had too much to eat because he threw up a little. He fell asleep on the way home.

Just a little update...we got an update tonight and have still not heard anything about a court date. Hopeful to hear something tomorrow. Please continue to pray!

Things I take for granted!

2011-04-25T13:09:00.005-05:00

Ok, so 3 weeks into our Ugandan adventure, I realize how many things I take for granted back home. Thought I thought I would make a list:
**Power that's always on and water that always works.
**Hot (even warm) showers.
**A washing machine in which I can wash my clothes. Oh, and a dryer, instead of hanging them on a line.

**Being able to travel around without being dependent on a driver or a taxi.
**Climate controlled buildings.
**Sleeping without a mosquito net. (in fact, just not having to worry about mosquito-transmitted diseases)

**Ready access to quality MEAT!!
**Being able to drink water from the tap.

**Seeing my wife and kids EVERYDAY!
I'm sure there are more things. But these will do for now. Even though I take these things for granted and I'm thankful for them, I know that they are really not that important--except for the last one!!

By the way, little Gideon slept through the night the past 2 nights. We'll see how tonight goes. (funny that when I was writing this, G started crying. He's good now!)

Resurrection Day.

2011-04-24T12:09:00.007-05:00

It's definitely a bummer spending a holiday away from family. However, it's always good to make the best of any situation. Today, this meant attending church at Gaba Community Church. Gideon and I went to the 8am service. I was running late and got there at 830am. There was still another hour of music and performances then preaching and some other stuff. Needless to say, G didn't last the whole time. No problem. We got to hang outside and talk to some folks before we headed back "home".

We ended the day with a "family" dinner made by some of my housemates. The guys and I took a taxi to the grocery store to get supplies. We didn't get any meat because it was pretty pricey and we didn't see anything that really tickled our fancy. Anyway, we had quite the array of side dishes--mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, tomato and cucumber salad, baked beans, fried zucchini, biscuits and tzatziki spread from Go Greek. It was all VERY good.

We finished with some banana pudding. The funny thing is that all the of the dishes had to be adapted a little bit to fit the ingredients we could find. Everything turned out really well.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed the food on my plate. It's a happy plate for a happy belly.

While I wish that I was at home with my family, I know that I can worship and reflect on the resurrection of Christ wherever I am. I am thankful for what God is teaching us as we continue on this journey!

A chance to serve.

2011-04-23T13:49:00.003-05:00

This past Monday, Mary and I were able to go with the other families that we're living with to serve some kids who are really in need.

Sarah, one of the moms in our house, told us about a US-based organization called Sixty Feet that ministers in Uganda. One of their ministries is at some government-run children's remand centers (prisons, basically) at which street children and those who have committed crimes are housed. A fundraiser done to support Sixty Feet in the States is called The Cupcake Kids in which kids across the country sell cupcakes and the money goes to Sixty Feet. OK, so Sarah's idea was, since we are in Uganda, to actually bring cupcakes to the kids in these centers around the same time that children in the US were selling cupcakes. (got it?)

So, the moms in our house began making about 400 cupcakes--YES, 400 cupcakes!! There was a lot of improvisation in making, frosting and transporting those bad boys but we did it.

(Notice that they are square. We couldn't find round cupcake tins!)

(Different icings flavored with peanut butter, jello mix, and crystal light packets!)

(Pretty good final product. They actually tasted great too!)

So, last Monday, we visited one of the centers that was about an hour out of Kampala. We brought the cupcakes and some kool-aid-type drink. Another family (Dinsmores) went with the families in our house to the center. They blogged about the day and Sixty Feet reposted their account of that day. Follow the link to read about that day.

Good Friday

2011-04-22T14:12:00.003-05:00

Tonight I attended the Good Friday service at Gaba Community Church. Gaba is the church from which the Babies Home was born (no pun intended). I almost didn't go because it's kind of a hassle taking a taxi, and walking to the church while lugging a baby and gear BUT I'm glad I did. (By the way, I get a LOT of stares walking around with Gideon--1) men in Uganda generally do NOT care for children, 2) I am a white man with a black baby, and 3) No body here carries their baby in a Baby Bjorn on the front of their body--BRING ON THE STARES!)

It's been kind of a quiet day. My housemates went to a local resort to stay for the night and our power has been out since 4am--it's still out at almost 11pm. The service was NOT quiet. It was an upbeat celebration of what Christ did for us on the cross. It was so nice to worship. Things have been discouraging lately so it was good to focus on God and his goodness and provision.

The preacher tonight spoke from Ephesians 1:3-14. This is a great passage that speaks of how we are "adopted" by God (v. 5). Coincidence? I think not. It was funny because when he started to speak about v. 5 and mentioned adoption, Gideon screamed out loud. It was like he was saying "AMEN".

Another meaningful part of worship was the Michael W. Smith song "Above All". Now, normally, I am NOT a MWS fan. I may have even openly mocked his voice! BUT the lyrics really spoke to where we are in this process: "Above all powers, Above all kings, Above all nature and all created things; Above all wisdom, and all the ways of man; You were here before the world began....." You know the rest. Basically, this was meaningful because it was a reminder that God is sovereign above every step of this adoption process--including the waiting and frustrating parts. Good reminder for me!

It was a great night of worship. I sneaked a video of some of the singing. I hope to post soon, when I have more power. By the way, the pictures are from the area of town called Gaba, where the church is. It's about a 10 minute taxi ride from our house. It's on the banks of Lake Victoria. We took these one day when we went to explore the market.

Thank you Loving Hearts

2011-04-21T13:45:00.002-05:00

Even though I'm not close to coming home yet, we hosted a small party for the staff at Loving Hearts Babies Home to show our appreciation for their work and ministry in caring for our Gideon. This morning I made some square cupcakes and one of our housemates helped me make the icing. Another adoptive family joined in and gave bags of rice to the staff as a thank you and a way to bless each of them.
Not all of the staff could be there today. Apparently, since this is a holiday weekend, children are out of school and many people are at home preparing for the Easter holiday. Each of the staff members who were there went around and each said a word of encouragement for our family. We also sang together. I read a thank you note that Mary had written to the staff. I got really choked up reading it and I mumbled a few words afterword. I cannot explain how awesome it has been meeting the "aunties" and other staff who have cared for our son from the beginning of his life. This is a special place with some special people.

On the court date front, we found out that we will not have a court date before May 1. Please continue to lift our family up. We know that God has a purpose in all this. Pray that we would be found faithful no matter our circumstances.

Bye Mary.

2011-04-20T15:51:00.002-05:00

As I write this, Mary has been traveling for about 26 hours and is probably about an hour from landing in Memphis. This included an 8 hour layover in Amsterdam. Let me just say that my wife is AWESOME. We already miss her so much here. The minutes and hours have just creeped by. BOOO! Wish she could still be here but glad she will be home with the boys in a few hours. We are still waiting for things to move here--we're just kind of stuck in judicial limbo. We hope to hear some news tomorrow (Thursday). We are praying for God to move mountains for us.

The many names of...

2011-04-19T15:55:00.002-05:00

So many of you at home know our newest addition as "Gideon"...and this is what he will be called once everything is finalized and we are all in the US together as a family. What's funny is that to just about everyone who has known him here, he is "Moses". This is the name he was given at the Babies Home (LHBH) when he first arrived. Unlike many of the children there, he has been there from the beginning of his life--probably at a day old or less. He came to LHBH because he was found under some bushes near a police station. A "good samaritan" discovered him, turned him in to the station, and the authorities turned him over to LHBH. You can see the similarities between our "Moses" and the biblical Moses.

We'll probably tell that story again at a later time but about the name... So now, anytime we are around anyone who has known our guy for any amount of time, he is Moses. For us and the other families we are staying with, and anyone who asks, he is Gideon. I actually came up with the name G-Mo because I said that he had an identity crisis. This didn't help because now we also call him G-Mo from time to time...it's become a joke!

REGARDLESS, our GIDEON (Moses/G-Mo) is precious and he'll know his name soon enough!

By the way, say a prayer for Mary. Her flight just left Uganda and in about 30 hours, she'll be back in S'port! Of course, then she'll be a "single" mother to our boys back home and I'll be a "single" dad to Gideon here. Praying for the day when we are all under the same roof!

The view from here.

2011-04-18T14:38:00.002-05:00

Kampala, the city where we are staying, is the capital of Uganda. The terrain in and around Kampala is hilly. In fact the name Kampala means "seven hills" because the original city was founded on seven hills. It is a very green city with lots of trees. Here's the view from the balcony on the house we are staying in. The next 3 pictures are our attempt at a panoramic view. They are in order from left to right. (as you can see we have a pretty green yard to play in.)

(we also have a big 'ol fence to keep out the bad guys!)

Note the house under construction in the neighboring lot. Yesterday, we noticed a goat on the second floor of the half-built house. He was checking it out.

The next thing we noticed is that he took a flying leap onto the ground. We hope he was OK but we didn't go check to see. Sorry, goat!

We continue to enjoy the city and the adventures we are having BUT our primary task is to bring Gideon home. We hope to have news tomorrow (Tuesday) of our new court date. Please pray!

Getting to know you.

2011-04-17T15:20:00.002-05:00

While we have met with some (well, many) delays so far, we have found great joy in getting to know our little Gideon. It will be great to continue to discover new things about him. Look at these lovely hands. God has big plans for these hands....we can't wait to see!! We are so thankful that God has plans for each of our hands to serve him and show his love to others. Look at these beautiful feet.......God, may you teach Gideon how to walk with you daily and guide his footsteps in your way!!

Food, Glorious Food!

2011-04-16T14:19:00.004-05:00

One of the great things about traveling is trying the local food. One of the things we discovered about Ugandan food is that it is somewhat similar to Louisiana food. They eat a lot of rice, usually with some kind of sauce. They have a type of greens that they cook. They eat beans. Again, not identical but similar. Here is a meal we had with the staff of the Babies Home. It is rice with G-Nut (almost the same as peanuts) sauce. Oh and the G-nut sauce had smoked fish in it. The orange on the side is pumpkin. The yellow dish is called matoke--it's made from green bananas. Bananas are eaten everywhere here. In fact there are a couple of banana trees in the backyard of the house in which we are staying. There's also an avocado tree that we have been eating from. Mango, guava, and pineapples are also everywhere. We discovered a coffee shop across from a craft market called 1000 Cups. They roast their own coffee--it's very good. We have been there a couple of times already.

You can get a GOOD grilled cheese with tomato or ham for 10,000 shillings (less that $5). It comes with a cup of coffee and some veggies on the side.

Overall, we haven't had to eat anything really weird. The food that Ugandans eat is heavy on starch and light on meat, but we have found it to be pretty tasty. We actually have eaten a lot of other types of international food while here. There's a Greek restaurant down the hill from us that we've eaten at a few times. We've had Chinese and Indian food as well--not to mention a couple of different versions of pizza.

I'll have to post some pictures another time of chapati and street food called rolex!! We'll continue to keep you posted!

Wash Day!

2011-04-15T15:49:00.003-05:00

Uganda is full of new experiences for us. One "fun" thing that we get to do is wash our clothes by hand. For some reason, we thought we would have access to a washing machine...we were wrong! Mary does the scrubbing and I do the wringing. Good times!

Mary says that she is going to kiss our washing machine when she gets home.

Things we like about Gideon

2011-04-14T12:18:00.002-05:00

Okay so we have only been physically with him for almost 2 weeks now, but we have loved him since the day we began this process. Here are some of our observations of our sweet little Gideon: 1. He has a sweet, shy demeanor. 2. He rubs the side of his face and scratches his belly when he is tired or upset. 3. He has beautiful big brown eyes with the longest eyelashes 4. He has the sweetest smile! 5. He is SO ticklish, even touching his back makes him giggle. 6. He is a popular guy with the ladies!! 7. His feet are very long and skinny, unlike his big brothers who always had super fat feet. I guess this is his way of ensuring that he wont be wearing his brothers' hand-me-down shoes!! 8. He likes to growl at us. He makes this funny sound like a growl when he is responding to us. So, hopefully, since we can't post pics yet, this gives you a picture of our little guy!! Can't wait for the day everything is official!!!

First Impressions

2011-04-13T13:34:00.002-05:00

Thought I would post some pictures of Kampala. These were some of our first times out in the city last weekend. The area we are staying in is VERY near Lake Victoria. Here we are by the lake after church that first Sunday! We also went to the market there on Monday--it was an adventure! You can find nearly anything in the shops that line the roads. Mary caught this as we drove by--choose your own chicken!

There's an interesting mingling of all types of things as you stroll about the city. Residences, shops, restaurants, farm areas, and livestock all blend together down nearly every street. The cows like the one in this pic are everywhere.

Taxis are also everywhere. They are the white vans with blue stripes. This is basically the only type of public tranportation there is. We were on one with 18 other people. Someone one-upped me the other day--they were on one with 21 other people.

Fuel is pretty expensive here. This is the cost of Uganda Shillings per liter. $1=2300 shillings. We have become quite accustomed to seeing prices in the 1000s.

We have had a good day today. Found out some progress has been made on our case. This means that we are a baby step closer to a new court date. Also, I got to meet some folks at a ministry here to explore some future mission work. Please continue to pray for us!

Uganda

2011-04-12T13:20:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been over a week since we arrived in Uganda but I've only had internet access on my computer for a few days. Figured it was a good time to start. Our first week and a half has been full of ups and downs--but, to some extent, we knew it would be like that. We are just anxious to have things wrapped up here sooner rather than later. Our first week was spent actually staying at the babies' home where Gideon is from. This was a good time for us to see where Gideon has spent the first 8 months of his life--firsthand! We were able to meet the staff and spend time with him. Okay, this pic loaded wrong. It's just the mosquito neet over our bed. FYI, mosquito nets are very annoying.

We met Gideon in the room where he slept each night. Here's his crib.

We are in a part of Kampala that is near Lake Victoria. This was the view from our room at the Babies Home.

We hope to keep posting some updates. Keep checking back.

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!!

2011-03-28T10:06:00.004-05:00

WE just got a call this morning from our social worker.....our court date in Uganda is next Monday, April 4!!! Praise God!! This is both exciting and terrifying due to all the details that have to be worked through in the next few days!! Just before bed last night, I realized that it was already Monday morning in Uganda. Jamey and I prayed that God would move mountains on Monday.....Prayer answered!!! We are so thankful that by this weekend, we will get to see and hold our little son!! Thank you for you all your prayers and love during this time!! We will keep you posted as we get a chance! In the meantime, will you commit to pray for us the following?: 1. Quality time with our sweet boys here 2. Continued protection for our baby 3. Details for travel to come into place 4. Details for those keeping our boys to come into place 5. Travel protection for Jamey & I 6. For us to find favor in the eyes of the courts 7. Peace & sanity :) (mainly for me, Mary, since I am the worry-wart of our family!) Thank you!! God is so faithful!! He is the mover of mountains!!!

Waiting!

2011-02-21T22:18:00.003-06:00

It seems as though so much has happened since our last blog post BUT the best summary is that we are WAITING! We are currently waiting to receive our court date. A couple of weeks ago our case was assigned to a specific judge but, since then, the judge has moved from the Family Division and we are waiting for our case to be reassigned. Once our case is assigned, then we will wait for the judge to schedule our court date. Once our court date is scheduled, then we can book our flights. Here's the process from that point (as we understand it). We will have to go before the courts 3 different times--an initial time to present our case, a second time to provide any additional information the judge might request, and a third time to receive the judge's decision. The end result will be that we will be Gideon's legal guardians. Once this happens, then we will have to get a Ugandan passport for Gideon as well as meet with the US Embassy in Kampala to get a visa for Gideon to enter the US. Once we return to the US, we will go through the La courts to legally adopt Gideon. We have already secured a local lawyer who will help us through that process here. Whew, I'm worn out just writing about this. OH--Mary and I will BOTH have to be in Uganda for the first 2 court visits. She will then return to the US and I will return with Gideon once everything is finalized. Mary's time in Uganda will be 1-2 weeks and mine will be 4-6 weeks! Please continue to pray for us as we wait!

Things are picking up!

2011-01-28T21:46:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday morning we received our second update on our baby Gideon complete with 4 new pictures. Again, sorry we can't post them here. Trust me, he's a cute one! He's about 5 months old and we could tell he's gotten bigger. The orphanage also included some written updates. Here's exactly what they said:

Has grown in height and weight
Trying to sit down but with support
Likes to feed on mashed irish potatoes
Has put on weight
Loves to be carried a lot

We found out that the lawyer our agency works with in Uganda filed our paperwork with the courts this past Thursday. We were told to expect to find out about our court date in the next 2 weeks. Once we get our court date we will travel in a month!! Bottom line...we should be traveling in March...maybe even as early as the end of February! We are excited about the pace picking up.

The other new development is that we're seriously considering bringing the boys with us. We thought we had settled on leaving them here but it's starting to feel more and more like we should bring them. So much so, that we went today and applied for passports for all of them AND Mary has already talked to the principal at Jonah's school about the possibility of him being gone for a couple of weeks!

Keep praying for us as we begin lining out these final details and as we make these crucial decisions about our trip. Pray that everything would begin to fall right into place.
Thanks!

Close to a Court Date!

2011-01-16T22:50:00.002-06:00

Our apologies for not updating sooner. We were traveling a lot during the holidays and we are finally getting back in the swing of things. We want to update you all on the process. Most recently, we have just submitted an affidavit with our agency which will be sent with our Dossier to Uganda. This is the last step (I think) before we get our court date. The court date will determine when we travel to Uganda. All signs seem to be pointing toward a travel date in MARCH!! Like many things, this isn't set in stone so we will wait for the official word.

Over Christmas, we were blessed to receive a grant from Show Hope--what a wonderful organization and what a tremendous Christmas present!

When we travel to Uganda, Mary and I will both have to be gone from Jonah, Seth, and Abram for about 10 days. I (Jamey) will have to remain in Uganda for up to six weeks. Please pray for us as we make preparations for our children to be cared for and for all of our responsibilities to be covered while we are away.

One of the most special gifts we received this Christmas was this nativity set from some dear friends of ours here in town. It's cool because it was made in Uganda. It's funny how we feel connected to that country even though we have never been there.
Also, during the holidays we couldn't help but think of our little Gideon who is already such a part of our family but was not with us as we celebrated Christmas together. We long for him to be with us ASAP! We need one more face in our family photos, don't you think?!?

Another Glimpse

2010-12-14T00:06:00.003-06:00

About a week and a half ago, Mary and I were getting ready for bed and I got an email on my phone. I opened it up and it was from our social worker at our agency. She is in Uganda and she had spent the day at the orphanage. She sent us about 10 more pictures of our little Gideon. It was good to see a picture of someone holding him because it helps us picture ourselves holding that little guy. There was a picture of him smiling and looking cute! We picture the day (hopefully very soon) when he is in our home with his family. Pray that day comes quickly!
Here I am getting Abram's "big boy" bed ready to move into his and Gideon's room. It's time for him to move on up--now it's time to fill that empty CRIB!!

Referral Received. Referral Accepted.

2010-11-18T00:43:00.002-06:00

Monday was a great day! That's the day we received our referral for Gideon and found out much more information about him. We have already accepted the referral and are continuing to move through the process. Also, we finally got to see what he looks like!

One big surprise is that he is currently only 3 months old! We were expecting him to be closer to 18 months and no younger than 6 months. We are thrilled! He's a cutie with big, bright eyes and little sprigs of curly hair on top. It was a lot of fun showing the boys their new brother--can't wait to throw one more boy in the mix.

The next step is to finish pulling together the final few documents for our dossier, send them to Uganda, and wait for a court date. It's possible that we could travel as early as March--though could be as late as early summer. It can't happen soon enough.

I'm sorry we won't be able to post or distribute a picture of him at this time--we want to protect him and our process. We were able to send a picture of our family to the orphanage so they could put it near him. We can also expect to get regular updates on him. I'm sure these updates will be highlights each month and we will be sure to share any new info with you.

As always, thanks for the support--prayer and financial--that so many of you have offered. This continues to be a humbling journey. We still have about 20 shirts if anyone would still like one. Also, we are waiting to hear back regarding a couple of grant applications. God continues to provide!

Stay tuned.

Blog Access

2010-10-28T23:28:00.002-05:00

Friends, thanks for keeping up with us. We continue to be busy with all the activities of life, all the while eagerly awaiting our little Gideon. Our referral date is only a couple of weeks away. We can't wait to "meet" our little guy. We pray that God would bring him to us quickly.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: In order to safeguard our adoption process, we feel the need to restrict access to our blog. We simply want to insure that we do not inadvertantly share any sensitive information about our orphanage, our agency, our child, etc. If you would like to continue to access our blog, send an e-mail to Mary--marydroddy(at)hotmail(dot)com or me--jdroddy(at)hotmail(dot)com. We will be able to put you on the approved-to-view list.

We will make this change on November 1. We look forward to hearing from you.

God Provides!

2010-09-27T21:52:00.004-05:00

We have focused (admittedly, not a laser-like focus) our efforts in September upon getting the last of our T-shirts sold. We had GREAT response from our circle of friends and family. We began the month of September with about 80 shirts remaining and we finished the month with 36 left--not too bad!

This is still 36 more shirts than we need to have. If you would still like one, respond ASAP. Here are the sizes we have left:

Adult Small--12
Adult Med--11
Adult XL--12
Youth M--1

Here's a neat way that God provided for us through our t-shirt sales. In September, we received an invoice for our third installment to be paid to our agency. The amount we received from t-shirts and donations was almost EXACTLY what we needed to make the payment. This is just one of the encouragements on the journey.

We are anxiously awaiting Nov 13, the date we are supposed to receive our referral. This will be the first time we lay eyes on Gideon's face and get information about who he is. We can't wait! We have been busy with the beginning of the school year and with "normal" life, but the waiting can get old. Pray that we would be patient and that we will learn from waiting!

Let's finish this!

2010-09-06T15:19:00.004-05:00

We are still in a holding pattern...no new news to report.

However, we have decided to devote the month of September to getting the last of our Empty Chair t-shirts SOLD. So many people have supported us by making a donation for a T-shirt--some for $20, some for more. We could not be more thankful. We have currently sold about 175 shirts BUT we still have about 80 left.

SO, if you've been thinking of getting a shirt but haven't, NOW IS THE TIME. We have every size still available. Just contact us by e-mail (jdroddy[at]hotmail.com OR marydroddy[at]hotmail.com) to let us know your size and mailing address (if you are out-of-town) and we will respond with how you can send us your donation.

FYI: To date, we have collected $12,742 toward our goal. We are praying that Gideon will be in our home QUICKLY--pray with us!

JOURNEY UPDATE--Immigration Approval!

2010-07-13T10:43:00.008-05:00

It's been awhile since we've updated everyone on exactly where we are in the adoption process. Now is as good a time as any--mainly because we have NEWS!

One of the steps in our process is submitting the required applications and documentation to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A while back we submitted USCIS Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition (sounds very official, right?). We also submitted to USCIS a copy of our home study as supporting documentation for our I-600A. This was followed by a trip to Dallas (our nearest USCIS Support Center) to be biometrically fingerprinted. Check. Check. Check.

Well, after accomplishing these tasks, we recently received our approval from USCIS. This is GREAT news because it happened sooner than we expected. After communicating with our agency, we were able to get a projected date for receiving our referral--NOVEMBER 13.

Let me interpret--this means that around mid-November we will have a picture to go with the name we lift up to the Father each night in prayer as a family. We will have in our hands the info that will help us prepare our home for little Gideon. We will have the tangible documentation that is evidence of a real child that belongs in our home. This gives us a timetable to guide our wait!

ALSO, the date we were provided tells us that our Gideon is out there...somewhere...on the other side of the world. He has been born and he's waiting. He's OURS and his place is with us. He is meant to be in our family. Yes, his bottom belongs in our Empty Chair. We pray every night that God would bring him to us quickly--join us in that prayer!

Cookout Benefit Results: A month later!

2010-07-13T10:42:00.005-05:00

We mentioned this on the family blog but we have traveled a LOT this summer. We have been through and to 9 states since the beginning of June. This has been detrimental to having an up-to-date adoption blog. It has NOT, however, been a hindrance to moving forward with the adoption process. We will provide an update on the process VERY soon. That is a promise; but first, some old business...

On July 12, some friends of ours in Shreveport hosted a Benefit Cookout/Pool Party/Silent Auction. This event was truly a blessing to our family. First, it was just REALLY fun. It was laid back and everyone was having a great time eating hot dogs and swimming (not at the same time)! Second, we were reminded (as we have been throughout this process) of the generosity of others. So many people donated items for the silent auction, bought T-shirts, and came out for the event. Also, it provided us a venue to talk to people about our adoption--one of the reasons that we don't have more pictures from that night is because we were talking to everyone and answering questions about little Gideon. Finally, we added $1,986 to the "Empty Chair" fund. We were and are excited. Thanks to everyone who helped to make this night meaningful for our family! Here are some pics:

Mary strung up some of our t-shirts and postcards with verses from Scripture that speak about adoption...such as......
The Welcome Wagon!Mary and Kristen Carothers

In the clubhouse where the silent auction items were displayed.

Empty Chair Benefit--TOMORROW!

2010-07-11T17:34:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow Night is the night! Monday, July 12 is the cookout benefit that some friends of ours are hosting to help with our adoption expenses.

Everyone is invited to the Pool at Twelve Oaks in south Shreveport beginning at 6pm (ends at 8pm). Drop by for swimming, hotdogs ($5/person, max $20/family) and a silent auction. We'll also have Empty Chair t-shirts available for $20 each (Wear them if you have them!).

This event is a HUGE blessing for our family. We're excited about it and hope that you can make it there to help us bring Gideon home!

The next phase!

2010-07-05T22:55:00.002-05:00

Like many of you, I'm sure, the summer has been a blur. It's funny trying to create a new summer routine even while said "routine" gets interrupted every 1-2 weeks with a trip of some sort. Toss in some of life's little surprises and you get some sporadic blog posting. All that being said, we would like to provide an update on where we are in the adoption process.

The main BIG piece of news is that our home study is FINISHED!! We received a notarized copy in the mail last week. This is really big news. Having our home study finished is the culmination of a months-long process. It feels as though we have cleared a big hurdle even though we have others to come. Now we will be able to apply for some grants and progress with our immigration paperwork. We have already moved onto finishing some of our educational requirements for our agency, filling out grant applications, and pulling together documents for our dossier.

The fundraising is moving along steadily. People continue to buy t-shirts here and there and we receive the occasional donation. Each time, we are blown away by the generosity of friends and even acquaintances. As mentioned in our last post, we have some friends who are hosting a benefit cookout for us next Monday. The word has been spreading and we are excited to see how God uses this event.

We pray often as a family for Gideon. We ask that you do the same.

Save the Date

2010-06-29T00:59:00.004-05:00

On Monday, July 12 from 6-8pm, some friends of ours are hosting a benefit cookout for us. It will be held at the Clubhouse in the Twelve Oaks Neighborhood in Shreveport. There will be swimming, a hot dog supper and a silent auction.

This might not be so convenient for our out-of-town friends but it is VERY convenient for all of you here in Shreveport. We are so grateful! Hope you can make it!

An Update from our Agency re: Uganda

2010-06-04T10:32:00.002-05:00

For the past few months, there has been a delay in getting new visas to adoptive families who are in Uganda waiting to bring their children home. We have commented about this a little bit on FB and on the blog. Here's an update from our agency's blog--it's great news!

Home Study Update

2010-05-31T23:01:00.002-05:00

We are nearing the end of our home study process. We will have an additional visit from our social worker tomorrow (Tues) morning. I'm not exactly sure what this visit will entail but I know that I am excited about nearing the end of this portion of our journey.

Over the past couple of weeks, Mary has spent some time getting us organized. Basically, this helped up realize just how much that we need to be doing. It seems as if there are a hundred little details to attend to. Pray that we may be diligent in this task that God has called us to. Every little thing we do brings us a step closer to Gideon!

Goal Update

2010-05-10T23:03:00.004-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been chock full of end-of-the-school-year activities for our family. In the next couple of days, the boys will both be out of school and our summer will "officially" begin. The summer holds the completion of our home study (soon) and us devoting some extra energy to the adoption process. Please pray for us as we kick our preparation into high gear!

We thought this would also be a great chance to update everyone on our fundraising effort. To date, we have raised and saved $7089.44 including sales of 119 t-shirts. For those keeping track, that is about 28% of our goal of $25,000. We continue to be so thankful for all the support we are receiving and we are confident that God will provide the remaining funds to bring Gideon home!

What's in a name?

2010-05-04T13:20:00.008-05:00

From the beginning, we never intended to name all our kids after Old Testament Bible figures. However, it has been amazing how God has guided us as we have named each of our boys. The Bible is filled with the people that God has used to accomplish his mighty purposes, often in their weaknesses. What an incredible testament to us as believers!! God uses us when we feel the weakest!! We want to "go public" with the name for our new Droddy for a couple of reasons. First, it gives a specific name for our prayers, as we patiently await the time we will meet. Second, it helps us to embrace the reality and blessing of our future son.

So here it is: GIDEON RAY

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." --Judges 6:12

Whether our little Gideon is in his birth mother's womb, in an orphanage somewhere in Uganda, or not yet conceived, we pray and know God's hand is on him, and over his circumstances. He is to be a "mighty warrior" for God.

Please pray with us for baby Gideon!!

"Father to the Fatherless"

2010-05-03T23:18:00.002-05:00

We just returned from a weekend trip to Birmingham. We brought some students to an event called Secret Church at Church of Brook Hills. On the return trip I was catching up on some of David Platt's sermons-he is the pastor at Brook Hills. Here's a link to a sermon about orphan care that inspired and challenged me. Listen at your own risk!

Send us your Empty Chair pics!

2010-04-26T22:22:00.004-05:00

It has been really awesome to see how so many of you, our friends and family, have jumped on our Empty Chair bandwagon! We have sold about 75 shirts so far and have been distributing and shipping out the first batches this past week.

Why not ask one more thing of you? Once you get your shirt(s), send us a picture of you sporting it. Be as creative as you want. Our first submission is from the Stouts. Thanks also to John Wesley for posing for the picture as well. If only he had a shirt, too!Here are the young Droddy lads sporting their shirts while bouncing on a rocking horse, complete with coordinating gaping mouths.
Seth randomly struck a pose and I was fortunate to capture this look of....um, surprise? fear? madness? Who knows? Sure is funny though!

T-SHIRTS ARE IN!

2010-04-21T00:43:00.002-05:00

We received our first batch of T-shirts today. We already have 40+ spoken for but there are plenty left. (Here I am modeling one of the first ones out of the box.) Please let us know if you would like one. Remember, each t-shirt we sell brings us one step closer to making our adoption happen.

Decision made regarding visas.

2010-04-15T23:48:00.002-05:00

Good news. The State Dept issued a clarification regarding legal guardianships in Uganda. This clears up the uncertainty--moving forward, legal guardianships will contain the correct wording to insure issuance of a IR-4 visa for a child to travel to the US for the purpose of adoption. BOTTOM LINE is that the clarity is good for all future adoptions from Uganda...including ours!!

Check out the State Dept notice issued today.

Prayer Request

2010-04-13T22:25:00.004-05:00

Our social worker at the adoption agency has let us know about an issue that is prohibiting adoptions from progressing in Uganda. While we are still early in the process, the situation in Uganda can ultimately have an effect on our adoption--potentially delaying our adoption.

I'll try to summarize: The adoption process for Uganda requires prospective adoptive parents to petition the court in Uganda for legal guardianship. Once legal guardianship is granted, a visa for the child must be granted by the US Embassy for travel back to the US. Legal adoption then takes place in the US. Currently, the US Embassy in Kampala, Uganda has not been granting visas (since Feb 3). According to our agency, this backlog in the process could affect all future adoptions.

Tomorrow morning, April 14, 2010 at 11:30am to 12:30 pm in Senate Russell 453 in Washington DC, there will be a briefing advocating for a resolution in Uganda regarding IR4 visa issuance. Simply pray that this issue will be resolved speedily and favorably!

(Look at how much we're learning!!)

The time is now...for T-shirts!

2010-04-09T00:58:00.012-05:00

One thing we have known from the beginning of this adoption process is that we cannot do it alone. First, we know that we will make it through this journey only by God's power. Not meaning to be trite, but this is truly a God-sized task in our lives. Second, we are depending on our friends and family to walk beside us through this process. We have already received encouraging words, wise counsel, and diligent prayers from those who know us best. With that support in mind, we knew that at some point we would have to make a request of you all to help us reach the financial goal to make this adoption happen--that time is now!!

Switching to international adoption means that our agency payments come sooner--we wrote the 1st check yesterday!! Our agency has provided us with a pretty good estimate of what this adoption will cost us--so, our goal is $25,000. Fortunately, we have already received a couple of donations to get the fund started. Also, we are personally saving and adjusting our famly budget to reach our goal quicker.

So, here's how YOU can help us. You can donate to the cause and/or purchase one (or more) of our new Empty Chair T-shirts:The suggested donation for each shirt is $20. You can go to our Empty Chair T-shirt page to get more details. We will be placing our first order on April 12. We are excited to see how God will provide. Please pray for us through this entire process and check back often.

2 New Editions + a preview

2010-04-04T23:38:00.006-05:00

Much like the adoption process itself, we are learning as we go with the adoption BLOGGING process. We added two components to this blog. First, you will find "Our Story...so far" in the Pages section of our blog--this just brings you up-to-speed with what brought us to this point.

Additionally, there is a button to the right by which you can donate to our adoption cause. Like many adoptions, financing is our main hurdle. However, we are confident that God will provide because we cannot do this on our own. We will be counting on donations from friends and family to help us make this adoption happen.

This week, we will be introducing our only planned fundraiser for this adoption--selling T-shirts. We will be posting our design and explaining how you can place your order. Check back later this week for more info!

No (april) Foolin'

2010-04-02T12:44:00.006-05:00

Welcome to our adoption blog! For those of you did not know that we are moving toward adoption, welcome to the party!

This blog represents another huge step in a lengthy process--one in which we are still in the early(ish) stages. Up until now, we have just talked about our call to adopt with the people we are around most and only usually when people ask us about it. This step (blogging) is a move to proactively tell our story to people who are a part of our circle of friends and family--our community (past, present, and even future?).

This post will only serve as our "hello" to everyone and as an invitation to come back often to check our progress.