saturday surprises

I love Saturdays! It's the one day of the week that we get to spend how ever we want.  When school starts back, it will be the only day of the week that all 3 kids will come and pile into our bed and watch tv until its almost time for lunch.  My favorite Saturdays are the ones when we have nothing really planned.  Today was one of those days...

It started as usual with the kids snuggling in bed watching tv while Thom went on a nice long 13 mile run in the scorching heat.  The kids and I finally made it down stairs by 10:00 for banana and chocolate chip pancakes..my specialty (atleast I think so anyway).  By the time Thom got home from his run I already had a few tentative plans lined up for the day.  Our Saturday was suddenly getting full.

Shortly after breakfast, we had a visit from my brother and his family which consists of his wife and sweet new baby boy, Mason.  He was stopping by to pick up a grill but we got a pleasant surprise when they all came inside to visit for a while and I was able to hold a sweet 4 week old baby.   I know people always say this but I'll just say it anyway... I can't believe Alex was that small just 2 years ago.  Time really does fly by and children are a constant reminder of that fact and the older they get the faster it goes.

As my brother was leaving, our friend, Margherita showed up.   She was coming to visit for a bit and offered to make us lunch! Now, she is from Italy and we LOVE to eat her cooking, so as hard as it was to give up our usual lunch of pb&j or left over pizza, we said yes...please! The next couple of hours were spent sitting around our dining room table eating a delicious meal, talking and sharing a bottle of wine. A meal that is usually reserved for dinner at our house, we are now thinking should become more of the norm at lunch.  Although I'm not sure we could get Margherita over here every Saturday to cook for us...Ha!

As we were finishing up lunch, our friend Thad stopped by.  Again this is a treat since he lives in Nashville and is just in town for a few days.   He is basically like family so when he is in town we look forward to him just randomly stopping by.  The kids love him of course, and often times I can look forward to hearing some live music coming from my family room (since he is a musician and all). Which, now that I have mentioned Thad, I must also mention his band Leagues. They have a new album on Itunes and they are going on tour with Mat Kearney in a few weeks. An awesome group of guys with some great music, so check them out!  Now, back to our day...our dear friend, Thad, decided to take our girls to Marbles, the children's museum downtown, while Alex napped.  Ava and Gabi could not have been more excited and I will admit that I was excited to get an hour or two of free time.
So off to Marbles they go.  How did I spend my free time you ask??  By sitting on the couch on the computer reading through dishwasher reviews and then... "ding ding"...times up! The girls are home, Alex is awake and my free time is over.  (In case you are interested, I have narrowed it down to the kitchen aid or bosch.)

Thad leaves and in come our friends, Taylor and Claire and their cute kiddos.  By this time it is almost five and dinner time.  We all decide to go down to an anniversary celebration at a local Peruvian restaurant.  They were having food, beer, face painting, bounce houses and live music in the parking lot. Yes, it was 102 degrees outside but we decided to sweat it out anyway. I am so glad we did...I was hesitant at first but it really turned out to be a great time! The kids bounced and we sweated but it was all worth it to hear Gabi say on the ride home, "that was the best time I've ever had!". Who knew  jumping in a bounce house in the parking lot of a Mami Nora's (in extreme heat) could be so much fun. Maybe we should rethink that next trip to Disney when a bounce house and a Spanish band will do!

Next we were home and I was exhausted.  It was 8 o'clock and I felt like it was midnight. Thunderstorms were rolling in I couldn't wait to curl up in bed and sleep, but the next thing up was a birthday celebration for our neighbor across the street.  I just didn't think I had it in me, but I had a cup of coffee, got a second wind, changed back out of my pj's and walked over.  I spent the next couple of hours catching up with the neighbors I haven't seen in weeks because it's been too dang hot to be outside. I'm so glad I mustered up the energy for that one last event of the day.

Now as I am going to bed my girls are curled up on the floor in their sleeping bags at the foot of our bed because of the thunderstorms earlier....a perfect picture of safety...of family.

A day that started out with no plans turned out to be one of the best Saturdays we've had in a long time.  


                                  It wasn't just full, it was over-flowing!

                                    Just the way we love to live life!









 

A new direction...

...not with our adoption just my blog!

I started my blog so I could write and keep friends posted about our adoption but I have been thinking lately that once the girls get home it will no longer be about our adoption but about our life.

I used to think that I really had nothing to say of interest to anyone out there...and probably still don't  :) but I have realized from reading other people's blogs that I really do enjoy connecting with and reading about people with the same interests or in the same season of life as me.  There are days when I do want to share something going on in the Asta home and I want more than 140 characters or a facebook status to do it.

So I will start writing more about what it's like to be a stay at home, homeschooling mom of 3,  anxiously awaiting the arrival of 2 more little girls from Uganda. A mom who loves to run but never seems to have time... and I may from time to time talk about how wonderful my husband is....just because :)

A post wouldn't be complete without an adoption update.

...we are still waiting on that affidavit!  Hoping it shows up in my inbox this week. I really miss those girls!

Nesting

We heard from our lawyer in Uganda over the weekend and the investigation of the girls is complete!  We should be getting our affidavit to sign...soon.  I think this is something we sign stating our intentions to adopt. Paternal and maternal family members from the girls also must sign these.  "Soon" could mean this week or next week, but since we are talking about Uganda, I am expecting it the week after that :) Once we get this signed, we will send over all of our paperwork to our attorney and wait for a court date(s)!
    
                                       We are getting close!!

With this new information I have decided to finally start getting the rooms ready for our new additions. It feels a lot like the nesting I did during the last month or so of each of my pregnancies.  Right now Ava and Gabi are sharing a room so yesterday we spent all afternoon cleaning out the guest room to get it ready for Ava to share with her new sister.  Of course, the whole upstairs is turned upside down and now I need to figure out what to do with all the stuff I was storing in the closet that room!


The girls picked out pillows for their new rooms yesterday, so now we have a color scheme to go with.

Next on the list is new bunk beds, paint, comforters....you know, all the fun stuff!  This should keep us me pretty busy the next month or so!

As we wait...

Well, It has been 3 weeks since I last saw the girls.  It seems like forever ago! I think about them all the time and wonder how they are doing...are they sick?  Did they get enough to eat today? Have they finished all the food I left with them?  I am sure P finished all of the lollipops I gave her within a day or two. I'm just hoping she has been brushing her teeth....I'm sure a dental visit is in her future! I guess giving candy to children with minimal adult supervision wasn't the best idea I've ever had :)

So an update on where we are in the process. We are waiting....

For what, I'm not totally sure. Both girls have lost their parents, so extended family members are contacted to make sure there is no one who willing or able to take care of them.  Once we have the signed affidavits from the family members, then our lawyer will file for a court date. The courts in Uganda close from July 15-August 15, so it will obviously be after the break that we will be traveling back to Uganda for court.  We are hoping for September but it could be later and I am just hoping to have them home before Christmas.

It is hard to be so far away with no contact.   It is so easy to take for granted being able to make a phone call, to send an email or even to write a letter and put it in the mail (knowing it will get there in a couple of days) to keep in touch with people we know here.  I wish it was that easy there.  There are ways of getting in contact with us if there was an emergency, but just to say Hi and we miss you is not so easy...

I treasure the pictures and tons of videos I took of the girls while I was with them.  My favorite ones are the ones they took of each other and themselves.  One of my favorite things to listen to is a recording from my phone of about 30 little girls laughing at an Iphone app that P was showing them.  Any time we need a good laugh we all listen to it and can't help but crack up with them.

September is right around the corner, but it seems like forever away.  Some days I wonder if we will ever get the girls home at all, or worse yet, what if we are able to bring one home and not the other.  Since they are not biological sisters, we will have 2 separate court dates with probably 2 different judges, so getting 2 different rulings is a possibility.  This is my greatest fear!  I try very hard not to let my worries interfere with my being a mom to the children I have right now.  I know that God has chosen us to love and be a family to these girls. This will happen in His time and in His way.  Right now these girls know they are special. I'm not sure that they have ever felt that way before. They know that Ava and Gabi are excited to meet them and be their sisters.  They know they have their own bedrooms waiting for them. They know there are friends and family here who can't wait to meet them.  They know they have a dad who can't wait to teach them to ride a bike and a mom who can't wait to tuck them in and kiss them goodnight....every night.

These girls have already changed our lives and they aren't even here yet.  This experience so far has been one of the hardest most beautiful times of my life.  I'm sure there are many challenges ahead but that is just part of being a parent no matter the circumstances.  I am just excited to watch God's plan unfold no matter how exciting scary it sometimes may seem.  A year ago I never thought we'd be adopting from Uganda and now I can't imagine life not knowing about P & G.  I do wonder if there are others out there....maybe that brother for Alex??

As I wait I am comforted by these words..." A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families"....Our girls are not alone.  God has a perfect plan for them and us. I also think of the words of an adoptive dad we met in Uganda who reminded me that "God loves those girls more than we ever could".  I know this is true.  I am humbled by the privilege to walk this journey.  I am humbled that He would choose me.  I am humbled by His grace and mercy and that we don't "get" what we deserve.  I am thankful that He has given me an incredible group of friends to take this journey with (some I haven't even met yet). 

Those of you following our journey... again, I want to say thank. Our family is so thankful for your prayers and support.   It really is so encouraging on those days when I feel so discouraged and wonder just what the heck we're doing.  I hope the next few months that we wait are lived fully so the time goes quickly.