-I took Riley with me this trip and it was the best decision ever. She loved Uganda as much as I do and was brave and adventurous. She was so kind and compassionate to her new sister and I pray it will help their bond once she is home. Bring your kids with you if you can!
-Home is good. There is nothing that will make you appreciate vacuuming and bathing your babies and cooking dinner and wiping noses then spending a long amount of time away from everyone and everything that you hold closely. I seriously spent my first 3 days home constantly thanking the Lord for all of it. Holding my babies, being home. It is so good and home is indeed where this mama belongs. (and I have absolutely no idea how I got through 5 weeks away during our adoption process in 2013, no idea!)
-Recovering from Ugandan things like...injured tailbones from boda rides...makes me a legit experienced Ugandan visitor person. I'm just missing the nose ring ;-)
-I don't consider myself a super big "homeschooling is the best thing in the world and the best option for every child" kind of person, at all. But I do so love the flexibility we have. If we did not homeschool I have no idea how we would have made these past two trips happen. Constantly thanking the Lord for paving the way for this to be a real option for our family that we all benefit from.
-This past week has consisted of lots of cuddles, cooking, reading books and playing outside. Again, home is so good.
-It has been months and months since I have seen any progress in my body. I am sure raspberry cheesecake gelato has nothing to contribute to this fact. So this morning I woke at 4:30 (yes, four stinking thirty AM) and dragged myself to Crossfit and joined. Running is just not cutting it for me anymore, obvs! - and my friend reminded me of my long lost love for Crossfit that needed to be rekindled. I agree, it had been almost a full year without it and this morning I loved every single second of it- legs wobbly by the end and all! Snatches and rows and boxes and meter runs and sweat and sore bodies, bring it on.
-My current favorite dinner (that happens to also be whole30 approved) thanks to stalking JH on IG:
grill up onion, green pepper, jalapeño, whatever veggies you have on hand that you like grilled in a cast iron.
add 2 cans of diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted) and let simmer a little bit
make 4 shallow pits in the "sauce" and crack an egg in each
cover and let the egg cook through, you can break the yolk if thats how you like or leave it
once the egg is cooked through- sprinkle with salt/papper/parmesan cheese
feeds two people, adjust as needed
Gahhhhhh the egg comes out perfectly and it's so weirdly good. Like you are eating breakfast for dinner but kind of not. You're welcome.
-I should probably turn in when my eyes are so tired they are watering- 4:30am comes quickly. Thank you all for continuing to pray our girl home- we are overwhelmed at the outpouring of genuine love and concern and the desire to help that our community has shown us. We have good people, thankful to the Lord for each of you!
*In the last 9 weeks since having to come home, we've had to hire an immigration attorney to help us obtain a visa for Olive. Up until this point, our adoption was fully funded, including the 3rd trip. But we've since had to use our travel money for the third trip ($5,000) to pay for the unexpected attorney fees, now leaving us short. We don't expect to travel until late May, and we are continuing to pray that the Lord will continue to provide for this last leg of the process! If you feel led, all donations made through this paypal link go directly into a separate adoption account where 100% goes towards our third trip to bring her home. *
