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.