We are settling into a routine here, which has been good for all of us, especially Maggie. She does best when she knows what's coming next. Don't we all?? :) She has been sleeping good - usually 11 hours a night, and takes an afternoon nap of 1-2 hours, so we are happy with the sleep portion of her adjustment! One downside is that she has become VERY picky about what she eats - not sure if that may have something to do with all these new options? She will eat any kind of fruit, except bananas (which was a staple in her diet in Uganda - go figure), and her other "go-to's" are yogurt, applesauce, peanut butter and pancakes. Protein and vegetables are NOT high on her list and we usually have to bribe with one of the above to get her to eat any.
One thing that's been fascinating for us to see is that this girl is FULL of personality. Which totally wears her mama out. :) As Hamza would say, "oh my lawd!" She is SO anxious to learn, repeats most of what we say, talks all the time (even if we can't understand her), counts to 20, sings the ABCs, missing the "QRSTUV," knows about 6 colors, laughs and laughs and laughs, makes jokes by mixing up our names on purpose, loves to dance, laughs some more, tickles her brothers, jumps on the furniture, attempts gymnastics moves, talks and waves to people on TV, talks to people on the phone, tries wearing ALL her jewelry at once, loves shoes, yells at Murphy constantly . . . and just totally has LIFE coming out her pores!! Can't believe the energy/entertainment/exhaustion she has brought to our family. :)
Meanwhile, I can't stop thinking about the kids left in the orphanage. I keep asking God, "why just one?" And all manner of questions bother me: Why couldn't we bring all of them back here and find them homes? Or at least 2 or 3 more? Why is it so hard for people to adopt? Why was Maggie given a family and the others haven't been? With every doctor or dentist visit, with every hug and kiss we give her, with every good meal she eats, with every goodnight, tucking her into bed, with every bonding moment, I think of those faces at her orphanage. I believe they may haunt me forever. They were just as precious as she is, and yet they still sit there, lonely, forgotten, and just a number in a crowd. She's been sick the past 24 hours, running a fever, and all she wants to do is cuddle on our laps and sleep. What do the kids in the orphanage do when they have a fever? Does anyone take their temperature and give them medicine? (From what I've seen, I doubt it.) Who cuddles the sick kids and gives them undivided attention?
I know, now more than ever, that God's plans are perfect and that He holds each one of those kids in His hands. And I know I will never get answers to my questions - but I'm trying to sort out how to deal with them. Do I pray that I could forget? I don't think so. But I find my heart heavy, and I find myself feeling guilty that I'm relieved to be home, to be back in America, to be out of Uganda. There are so many people in that country who are desperate to get out, to come here, to escape the hard life they face daily there.
All I can come up with at this point is to try and honor God with what He's blessed me with and bring up this little girl with a knowledge of the amazing things her Lord has done for her. And trust that HE will take care of the rest.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Two Weeks Home . . .
And things haven't calmed down yet! After the entire family welcomed us home, my sister and her family left the next day, and my mom moved in for the next few days to help me get on my feet again. Shortly after she left, Mark's mom and dad came for 5 days, and just in the nick of time, as I got sick.
Nice timing.
As if coming home wasn't hard enough.
Why don't moms of very. busy. toddlers. get an exemption from illness?? I was knocked flat and yet had to drag myself to our travel doctor so I could be tested for all manner of African and exotic illnesses. :) Thankfully, all tests came back negative, and I just needed to GET THROUGH IT. Feeling better, but I can tell my body is still fighting. I think the stress of the trip and the exhaustion incurred on the way home took it's toll and my body said DONE.
And speaking of doctors, Maggie had her very thorough physical, and passed with flying colors. Her doctor was very impressed (shocked, even) with how healthy she is and how well taken care of she was. We are so thankful. She does have giardia, but the thought is that she's likely had it since she was a baby. So we're doing a 10 day course of treatment, which she hates, but takes it like a sport.
She has been busy charming the pants off everyone she meets - which is so fun for us to see. She definitely is NOT a wallflower - this little girl has a *huge* personality. Very outgoing, entertaining and a total crack-up. We are constantly amazed by what she knows and what she catches on to (and how fast). She repeats everything we say, so we have learned to be quite careful - funny how some seemingly harmless things we say sound a lot worse coming out of the mouth of a child.
The downside? She hates dogs. HATES. DOGS. We have two. Do we see the problem here?
We brought home our littler one - a cavalier who is 20 pounds and is the most kind and gentle-hearted dog ever (Murphy). Initially, Maggie acted like he was Satan himself. She's improved from that - will now at least be in the same room as him, but climbs us like trees if Murphy gets too close. Her preference is being anywhere off the ground if he's around.
Meanwhile, our golden retriever, Tucker, is at a friend's house until we see some progress in her fear of dogs. We dropped off some dog food for him today (while they weren't home) and saw him through a window in their garage and, ohhh - that was not a good plan . It broke our hearts, and he looked at us like "WHAT is going on here?" Kindof wishing I hadn't seen him - I was doing ok until then. Just praying he'll get to come home soon!
And so we continue our adjustment, and constantly wonder what Maggie is thinking. She seems to be adapting so well, but we know there are times when she is processing, and we desperately wish we knew what goes on in that precious little head. I for one look at her and am constantly in awe of God and how He pulled this family together. How He plucked her out of a hopeless, desperate situation and placed her in a huge family who adores her. Which is a beautiful reminder of exactly what He does for us - plucks us out of our lost and hopeless situations and adopts us as His own. Utterly amazing.
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 1:3
Nice timing.
As if coming home wasn't hard enough.
Why don't moms of very. busy. toddlers. get an exemption from illness?? I was knocked flat and yet had to drag myself to our travel doctor so I could be tested for all manner of African and exotic illnesses. :) Thankfully, all tests came back negative, and I just needed to GET THROUGH IT. Feeling better, but I can tell my body is still fighting. I think the stress of the trip and the exhaustion incurred on the way home took it's toll and my body said DONE.
And speaking of doctors, Maggie had her very thorough physical, and passed with flying colors. Her doctor was very impressed (shocked, even) with how healthy she is and how well taken care of she was. We are so thankful. She does have giardia, but the thought is that she's likely had it since she was a baby. So we're doing a 10 day course of treatment, which she hates, but takes it like a sport.
She has been busy charming the pants off everyone she meets - which is so fun for us to see. She definitely is NOT a wallflower - this little girl has a *huge* personality. Very outgoing, entertaining and a total crack-up. We are constantly amazed by what she knows and what she catches on to (and how fast). She repeats everything we say, so we have learned to be quite careful - funny how some seemingly harmless things we say sound a lot worse coming out of the mouth of a child.
The downside? She hates dogs. HATES. DOGS. We have two. Do we see the problem here?
We brought home our littler one - a cavalier who is 20 pounds and is the most kind and gentle-hearted dog ever (Murphy). Initially, Maggie acted like he was Satan himself. She's improved from that - will now at least be in the same room as him, but climbs us like trees if Murphy gets too close. Her preference is being anywhere off the ground if he's around.
Meanwhile, our golden retriever, Tucker, is at a friend's house until we see some progress in her fear of dogs. We dropped off some dog food for him today (while they weren't home) and saw him through a window in their garage and, ohhh - that was not a good plan . It broke our hearts, and he looked at us like "WHAT is going on here?" Kindof wishing I hadn't seen him - I was doing ok until then. Just praying he'll get to come home soon!
And so we continue our adjustment, and constantly wonder what Maggie is thinking. She seems to be adapting so well, but we know there are times when she is processing, and we desperately wish we knew what goes on in that precious little head. I for one look at her and am constantly in awe of God and how He pulled this family together. How He plucked her out of a hopeless, desperate situation and placed her in a huge family who adores her. Which is a beautiful reminder of exactly what He does for us - plucks us out of our lost and hopeless situations and adopts us as His own. Utterly amazing.
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 1:3
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