Court Tomorrow

Thank you for praying for us while we are here in Uganda. Heidi and I would like to specifically ask you to pray for us tomorrow as we go to court in Kampala. We are scheduled to be there at 10:30 AM (1:30 AM CST). We ask that you pray for the following:
- Sleep tonight for Heidi, me, Caleb, and Hannah (and another family that is here adopting)
- The car ride to and from Kampala (2-2.5 hrs each way) with our kids
- Everyone who needs to be at court would show up
- The judge would provide a favorable ruling to both us and the other family with us.
- The judge would issue his ruling on the same day (rarely ever happens but we will need it in order to have an chance or bringing Caleb and Hannah home with us in 2 weeks
- God would be glorified through this whole process

As for an update, we got to spend some time today with Caleb and Hannah at their baby house. We were able to hold them, read books, play games, take them on a walk (with the rest of the kids in the house) and I even got pottied on by Hannah. We also met a ton of kids, helpers, and one of the missionary families. There are names of kids swirling around in our heads and we are trying our best to keep them all straight.
Thank you again for your prayers and we hope to have good news to share with you tomorrow.

We Have Arrived

After 4 flights, 18 hrs of airtime, an 8 hr time change, and a 2 1/2 hr car ride we safely made it to Good Shepard's Fold (GSF) near Jinja, Uganda. All our flights were on time, our baggage made it safely through to Entebbe airport, and the 4 blocks of cheese we packed stayed cold.

However the highlight of our trip was arriving at GSF around 7 PM and having Caleb and Hannah placed onto our laps as we pulled up while the other kids greated us with song and welcomes. We got to spend about an hour with Caleb and Hannah and we have fell instantly in love with them. (pictures to come in the coming days)

After taking them back to their house for bedtime, we enjoyed some dinner with another couple that is also adopting from GSF, one of their set of parents, and Claudia. After much awaited showers, we are now settling in under our mosquitoe nets and listening to strange new animal calls outside as we quickly fell asleep.

Thank you for all who have prayed for our safe arrival.

Uganda Bound

I've decided to be kind of hush hush about our upcoming addition of two little ones to our family. Mostly out of respect for the process, but also because I've been guarding my heart. And while the guarding of my heart absolutely must continue until legal guardianship of Caleb and Hannah has been granted, I'm preparing to give a couple pieces of it away. Chad and I will be leaving Sunday (yes, Sunday...I know, right?!) to begin the process of bringing them home. Leaving the five to bring home the two. Kinda feels like we're living the parable of the lost sheep.

We're going to be gone a couple weeks and will most likely have to return to Uganda to finalize in January. I'll be documenting our travels here. If you are reading this, I would ask you to please pray for our family. It humbles me to think anyone actually reads this, BTW. But to know people are lifting our names up to the Father would be the most humbling, wonderful knowledge of all. He started this work in us, and we are confident He will be faithful to complete it.

Thankful

Piles of laundry, half unpacked suitcases, a boy home sick from school with the stomach bug that won't quit, dirty dishes, Christmas tree lights twinkling right next to fall decor that still needs to be put away....the aftermath of a wonderful weekend of celebrating Thanksgiving with our family.

Since meeting Cooper on November 28, 2009, my heart swells with thanksgiving in a way I never thought possible. This orphan no more has stolen our hearts.

Watching a solemn baby boy with no one and nothing to call his own morph into a happy, boisterous three year old has been one of the greatest joys of our lives. When God put Cooper in our family, He blessed us far more than we could ever bless this little boy. It has been humbling to be a part of God's plan for Coop's life.

Maybe looking forward to the next couple months has made thinking back on this Metcha Day a little sweeter. Because, Lord willing, these two sweeties will be a part of the Spore family in the very near future!

The First Time Ever

Two years ago today was the first time we laid eyes on this boy. The pink jumpsuit bamboozled the eye as we gazed at his picture over and over again. "The letter did say 'boy', right?" Chad asked me. "Yes, I'm just sure he's a boy," we both said over and over again. We memorized each feature, printed 25 copies to share with friends and family, and showed random strangers who displayed even the slightest interest in our adoption.

And two years later (how can it possibly have been two years already?), we absolutely can. not. imagine our lives without him. Coop, you are smart and handsome, curious and funny. We love you with all our hearts. As we welcome a new little brother and sister into this mix called the Spore family, we want you to know that you will always belong with us and to us. And we are so grateful we get to be yours.

Halloween 2011

This year was the first year we had a kiddo declare herself too old to trick-or-treat. She had her two bffs over to watch Tim Hawkins DVDs, put on make up, and hand out candy. I think a good time was had by all.

As for Chad the Builder, Larry Boy (who seems so sad in this picture but later came out of his funk), Boba Fett, the Dragon, and the Leopard, they made quite a haul of candy. We all had a fun evening with friends.

First Day of School

So much has happened in our family since my last post! I've missed several birthdays, our 15th wedding anniversary, Chad's kidney stone drama, a major storm in our little town that caused lots of damage, all the work we've done on finishing our basement.....the list goes on and on!

I have been hesitant to share some adoption news because of its sensitive and unpredictable nature. What I can share right now is that, Lord willing, we will be adding a three year old boy and one year old girl to our family in January. We are so excited to meet them and learn how to love them. If you'd like to pray for us in this process, please pray for favor for our family with the judge to whom we will be assigned. You can also pray for our little guy as he is really scared of the dark and of being alone at night. We're so excited that he will have two brothers in his room with him at night when we get him home. (And, if that's not enough, we're getting pretty used to having a makeshift bed on the floor next to our bed for whichever kiddo is having nighttime issues.)

Ok, on to the title of this post. We sent four little ambassadors off to school today: a seventh grader, a fifth grader, and second grader, and a kindergartener. We really didn't anticipate sending our five year old this year, but class sizes were really small and he is ready. So, Cooper and I will navigate the homefront battles on our own for a few months. He seemed pretty lost without his playmate today, but I was able to spend some special alone time with him.