we are still waiting!

I haven't posted lately as I keep thinking I will wait and post when we receive our court date because honestly I thought we would have already received it! But, we are still waiting on that email that says our official court date! The crazy thing about it is..the date could very soon and we could be rushing to leave...or it could be a month away! We won't know until the judges appoint and they give their approval on the date. So we wait, as patiently as possible, and see what happens until then.:)
The boys started school and so I am SO thankful we were here to get them back into a routine and settled before we leave. Gray heads back to the ENT specialist on Monday to have his 3 week post-op surgery checkup. I am praying for a great report on his ear!
Thank you for your prayers, love, and all of your support during our wait! She is out of the hospital and recovering well per Mr. A. We gotta get this girl home and get her healthy!

update

Most of you probably already know that Eliana has had malaria again. She has been in the hospital for the past few weeks in Buwenge, Jinja and had a bad form of it that is the most fatal. The good news is she is responding well to treatment and they are hoping she gets out of the hospital soon. I try to keep most of the details private regarding her case and not get into too many details...but also try to have as many prayers and support as possible that I can from friends and family. I have been a bit frustrated regarding her health and treatment, as I haven't been very informed. Very common there from what I have heard and read, but frustrating nonetheless.
I will try to update the blog more as I hear details where everyone will know what's going on. As always..thank you for all of your prayers and love.

We got submitted to court!

What a busy last week. Gray had a major ear surgery which has a 92% success rate, he is a week post-op. He did well, we had a couple of little scares after he woke up, but everything went perfectly.

Right after surgery in recovery

His brothers have kept him company:)

We got submitted to court on Tuesday, and normally you receive a court date in a few days. However, our attorney informed us, because of court closures and new judges being appointed in Kampala, we probably won't get a date until after they reopen on the 15th of August. It is ironic how our daughter came to us right before once a year court closures. If I had to miss Gray's surgery, his first day of kindergarten, Tyler's first day of first grade, or Eli's first day back to preschool, I would have been so upset! So, as much as we want her home, the timing is actually perfect.

It's hard because we don't know when it will be, and I haven't gotten any new info...but as always on this journey,  we just have to pray and know that we are not in charge this time (or any other time we elusively think we do). God's got this handled. And attempting to micromanage Him sure is a waste of time! So we are focusing on day to day and what we have right in front of us...three little guys that are starting a new year!

Malaria Facts

Eliana was diagnosed with malaria, and was hospitalized for a few days, but is now back at the home of the orphanage director. His wife is caring for her, along with some other sick children that need care. Thankfully after receiving meds and fluids, she is slowly recovering. The great thing about malaria is once treated, it clears up quickly for most children. When we are in country, we take a daily pill to prevent contracting the virus.

Below I put some information on malaria, a very preventable disease! Uganda is the #1 country in Africa at risk for and confirmed cases of malaria.

Update..or lack thereof..

For anyone who doesn't know, I got a many of Eliana's pics day before yesterday and knew immediately she looked very sick.

After I emailed the director he said she was indeed sick...she has high fevers and "body weakness". He said he was taking her yesterday morning to the hospital and I have had no feedback since then from him. We are just praying that she is getting stronger and better but have faith God will take care of her.
I will keep everyone updated!

By the way, her tummy looks very distended in these pics...which it is to some extent, but nothing like this! She just has her hands pushing it out. I have many more where it looks more "normal".

Please pray for this little girl!!!

Amy

Prayer for a Grateful heart

Faith..

Eliana,

When we decided to move forward with you joining into our family, we knew it would come with hardships. Little did we know, it would include your sickness before we could get to you. It is so unfortunate that we can not be there to hold you in Uganda...there is nothing more a child needs in sickness than a mother's touch. However, there is thankfully a touch even stronger than this.
His touch heals when a mama is there and when she is not. His touch heals when we need Him and  when we don't even deserve to be healed. His Healing Hands are what makes my faith. The only comfort in your sickness from afar is that God always delivers. He always answers. It may not be the answer we want or think we need at the time...but the answer is ALWAYS RIGHT. It is exactly what is meant to be. And that alone..is what gives me peace....and ultimately gives me faith.
We love you from afar, and I know God brought you this far..and He isn't going to fail you now. We will be there soon.

Much Love Sweet Girl,
Mommy

Signed Affidavits!

Thank God the affidavits we will submit to court were signed today in Uganda and we will print to have notarized and will overnight today along with all the other load of paperwork to Uganda to be submitted to court. We should have a court date given within the next week of being submitted.  One more step down, very close to getting a COURT DATE:)

Thanks for all your prayers:)
Amy

Update

I will refer to our main contact in Uganda as "Mr. A" from now on...it will be easier instead of "orphanage director" every time I write an entry! So, communicated to Mr. A via email yesterday and he said that Steven is taking meds now and should be better soon. Still praying for him to recover quickly! Can you even imagine being 4 and not having a mommy to take care of you when you are so sick? That thought alone makes me so sad for him!

On another note, Eliana's grandmother and uncle are signing paperwork this Friday (getting to Kampala  (the capital city) from where they live (outside of Jinja) is a very big deal...Mr. A goes with them, and even Mr. A doesn't have a car, so they hire a driver to get them there). Her uncle is out of town now and has been for a while, working to bring home food/resources for the home, and promised to be home Thursday night where they can leave Friday.

Little by little, step by step, we are getting closer. After they sign the affidavits, we have them notarized (5 copies) and then we overnight them with all of our other mounds of paperwork, which are all notarized/blue ink yada yada.., and our attorney submits them to court to receive a court date! He did say that the courts, although closed, the clerical side of court will still give court dates, and dependent on the amount of work they have, determines the time of our court date. It could be "soon". Remember what I mentioned about "soon" in Africa? NOT the same as in the US! But hoping for an end of August court date! Prayers for that please!

I keep asking for pictures and Mr. A is getting those "soon" as well:) We shall see if we get one before court! Supposedly her new bed will be there this week...she has never slept on a bed (or probably even seen a bed!), so I know she will be so excited! She has shoes on her feet now (for the first time) and clothes and milk in her belly! My biggest concern for her is health, staying well until we can get there!

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Prayers going up!

I spoke to a lady in Chicago today who is adopting from the same place in Uganda, a little boy and little girl. She has already been once, showed up for court, and the judge said she was too busy to see them and to come back after closures in late August! I can only imagine her disappointment since she had already met, and bonded, with the kids. This was in June, and they came home after the news. Today, she had more bad news that her son had contracted malaria (again) and was extremely ill. She doesn't really have a lot of information, but that he was in pretty bad shape, and is vomiting, diarrhea, etc...and dehydrated. Malaria kills children there all the time, so of course she is so worried and I am praying for him and her! Would you please say a quick prayer for little Steven? He is 4 years old, sweet, adorable, and very sick:(

This makes me scared for Eliana too...as she lives in the same home (well, I would call it a room), with him, and 5 other children, 2 of which are the orphanage director's children.  Please pray for all of their health, safety, and for God's healing hands on them all.

Still waiting to see what day Eliana's family will be headed to sign the paperwork this week. Will keep everyone posted!