Monday, May 27, 2013

Remembering Our {Adoption} Adventure - part 6

For the next few weeks, I will be blogging about our adoption journey to Uganda & beyond!  The Lord took us on a sweet adventure to become a family of 3.  We were in Uganda adopting Walker for about 3 weeks.  There were ups & downs.  Highs & lows.  Joys & triumphs.

My husband & I chronicled our adventures on a private Facebook group we created to keep friends & family up to date on all the latest happenings.

This is a re-cap & remembering of our journey ONE YEAR ago!!!!

***I AM PLAYING CATCH-UP RIGHT NOW, SO THERE WILL BE SEVERAL POSTS UNTIL I GET CAUGHT UP.  ONE OF MY SISTERS IS IN THE HOSPITAL, SO I'VE BEEN SPENDING LOTS OF TIME IN THE CAR & THE HOSPITAL ROOM.***

Pic snapped with some of the older kids at the orphange.
May 24, 2012
Ok, so my little rebellious sinner went to bed tonight right away. Whew! Praise the Lord!!! I/we think his issue {last night} was with having to wear a diaper to bed. His 2nd night with us, he wet the bed, & so, since our luggage hadn't arrived yet, we had to go buy diapers (or dipes as JJ calls them.) UG doesn't have pull-ups, so we had to buy regular baby diapers. Tonight he told us NO to the dipe, but stepped in the pull-ups (we had these packed in our luggage) just fine. I pray the boy never figures out that these are diapers! Today we had a few more obedience issues, but I think that is normal & to be expected – especially with the language barrier. WJ does fine with us when we are at the guest house & one-on-one with him. He responds well & obeys well; even w/ the language barrier. However, when we go out & about he seems to get overstimulated & becomes hard to control. He doesn't listen well, won’t make eye contact, & emotionally pulls away from us. I have to remember that he’s only ever been in a very controlled environment, & that all these new sights, sounds, & people must be extremely overwhelming to him. I think his behavior is normal & expected, but it leaves me feeling a bit scared & powerless & distant b/c I can’t “reach” him. Scott is very good with WJ & with me, so I think we’ll make it just fine. All my other adoptive mommas tell me this is normal, & that once we get home we’ll really be able to focus & work with him & to expect him to improve & grow lots & lots. I am thankful for God’s timing. I am reading the book “Give Them Grace” by Elyse Fitzpatrick, & it is an absolutely wonderful Christian parenting book. So thankful that I am reading this now.  It has been so helpful with where we are right now.

Apparently, WJ doesn't really care for meat all that much. He is eating a lot, a lot, a lot of rice & chapatti. I have been surprised that he seems to know when he’s had enough to eat; he will tell us if he’s full even if there is still food on his plate. Since he was literally starving to death when he was brought to the baby’s home & has been institutionalized for several years now, I wondered how he might react to a “free for all” with food. He’s done so well, & I’m very relieved! As for Scott & me, we are trying some of the African dishes. We love chapatti, beans, rice, & g-nut sauce (a boiled peanut sauce.) We also love Krest Bitter Lemon drink & Novida Pineapple – both carbonated beverages not available in the states. WJ gives a big thumbs up to Fanta Orange & Mirinda Fruity.

Our luggage has arrived, & it is glorious! Around January, we were told that WJ was a size 4T. Thinking we would be leaving in early March, we went ahead & bought several things as a 4T. When our time table got bumped out to May/June, I began fearing that the 4T things wouldn’t fit him. We packed both 4T & 5 for him. As I suspected, little bit is little. His 4T stuff is too big for him. This makes me happy b/c he’ll be able to fit in the jon jons I bought for him; 4T is the biggest size for jon jons.. This is my last opportunity to make him look like a baby boy, so I’m gonna go for it. ;)

WJ continues to have a smile that just warms your heart. He also is bumping up his fake laughing abilities; it is hilarious! He is catching on to saying please & thank you, & will even say w/o being prompted sometimes. He’s not always thrilled about cuddling, but I think that’s just being a 5 yr. old boy. Yesterday, he ran his toy Jeep over my foot, & he hopped up & hugged me & said, “Solly, Mommy, I solly! I solly!” It was precious! Melt.my.heart!

We are off to the safari tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

ps – We will be watching Fox & the Hound tomorrow on our drive to the safari place………. thanks Kyla for confirming that WJ would like this one. I will try to get him to watch Beauty & the Beast when we get home. It’s my favorite!



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