Day 4 with Ellie...

So Eliana slept for 16 hours last night! Yes, 16! 6:30 pm-10:30 am. Her little belly has been upset from some medicine she is taking so during the night if she has to go she'll get up and look at me to take her (somehow I suppose I sleep so lightly I know)..and then she goes right back to sleep. When she wakes in the morning, she resets back to "blank Ellie". I call it that because it's literally a blank, scared face that you can not get to smile. Even if she goes to bed smiling, she wakes up this way. Today, she stayed like this, all through breakfast and into the afternoon. So we just knew she was getting more sick...so we took her back to the Dr. because we needed to check test results anyway. They all came out good, slightly anemic but nothing startling....the Dr. said she has seen MUCH worse for a young one living in those conditions she was in. So I feel so grateful for that. But while waiting, we looked at video from her time with her sister from yesterday and she started smiling and laughing and dancing and had a wonderful afternoon the rest of the day! I again fell so blessed to have her sister being adopted in North Carolina where they can keep in touch! Such an answered prayer! Once she smiles, she smiles big! 

We were in the Dr. for hours and we went by a mall to get passport pics taken and it was quite the experience!! All I can say is BIG GUNS and the best word to describe this place is "EERIE". It was dark and guards were at each store with HUGE guns just waiting for an intruder. Our driver says if they feel threatened they fire in the ceiling before firing at the potential intruder. That explained all the gunshots in the ceiling. It's like that everywhere here. Men holding huge guns at the grocery store, in the parking lot, on the streets, at the pharmacy, hotels, etc. They also pat you down and check your bags EVERYWHERE. I don't know whether to feel comforted by that or scared to death they need those men with guns everywhere! yikes! But all in all,  I have felt very safe and Kampala is a very interesting place. Babies everywhere...kids with kids on their backs, women carrying bananas on their heads, all the things you see in pictures...it's real. All of it. The first day I saw a lady crying and lying on the sidewalk with about a 9 month old baby just lying on her playing with a beer bottle. I turned to John and said, "Toto, We're not in Kansas anymore!" I am focusing on enjoying the beauty and learning from the people who live here, and of course bonding with our sweet little girl.

Court is tomorrow morning at 9 am. Francis is picking us up at 7 , even though it's not far at all...traffic is quite the experience here. I will have to reserve a whole post for that.