Home, Sweet Home!

We finally made it home! Isaac is doing great with transitioning.  Below is our first picture as a family of 5...walking through the airport. We were welcomed with a party of family and friends.  We are so loved and blessed with wonderful people in our lives. 

Following the airport we went straight to Frisch's for some vegetable soup! Yummo! Isaac and the girls enjoyed suckers after dinner, of course!

The next day we loaded up early and went to watch Georgia play volleyball. Boy how we've missed our kiddos and everyday life!!

Monday morning we loaded up, dropped G off to school, E off to her mamaw's, and took Isaac to Children's International clinic for his first checkup.  He did spectacular!  Two shots, TB test, and 10 viles of blood drawn didn't make him too happy...but he still did way better than we had anticipated! 

We have been blessed with such a loving family and group of friends.  God has blessed us beyond measure and owe everything we have to Him!

God bless,

Headed Home!! Ky Bound!!

We are in the airport, about to go through our gate! Yeah....we made it!!! We owe a huge thank you to the following two gGodly men, Deo & Brian.  They made sure we made it everywhere exactly when we were supposed to be!  They have started a ministry of spreading God's word called, Be A Blessing...that's what they want to do...bless others the way God has blessed them! We loved having them around!!

To help kill some time we are letting Mr. Isaac enjoy his first (of many more) Twix bar! 

Can't wait to see you all! Love you guys!

Blessings!

Hanging Out Time!

While in Africa I have missed my girlies at home soooo bad!  I know they were and are well taken care of and have had a blast.  Below is a pic of my girls ready for church! You don't realize just how much you love your church and church family until you can't go there (at least for the time being). Of course after church they were continuing to be spoiled at Chuck-E-Cheese (of course, my favorite spot...not)!

 

Since we have had some idle time with Isaac...he's had quite a bit of fun!  He enjoys playing with his new sunglasses, as well as trying on different hats! 

We also had a mini-celebration tonight...you can see the cake below.  It was so yummy!!! Homemade from scratch...even the icing! :)

Last, but not least, we were able to enjoy a wonderful dinner out. Isaac did great and sat in his high chair the entire meal. There were even fireworks as we finished eating (celebrating Ug*nda's independence)...and Isaac just kept saying...awww at each one! 

Hopefully we will be back in the states by the time you read the next post! Continued prayers are greatly appreciated still!

Blessings,

One Happy Boy

Good news!!!  We are one step closer to heading home!

We will know more for sure on Friday :)

 

Isaac enjoying a swing for his first time ... NOT a fan

at first, but now likes it.

 

We introduced him to PaPa's iPod.  Now PaPa will have to share.  This boy LOVES music and will be dancing in the livingroom with Grandma.

 

 

 

Wearing Daddy's UK hat.

 

 

Daddy went to buy Isaac a soccer ball and he is sooo happy!  It was precious!!  They are playing outside now. 

 

 

Little Miss Georgia has started playing volleyball

and we will miss her first 3 games. 

Here she is playing just Fan-tabulous!

 

 

 

 

Waiting...waiting...something I'm not too good at...yet!

So, obviously we did not receive Isaac's passport today.  We did receive contact from the US Embassy that they were expecting us and wanted to check on the passport.  Unfortunately, Chad sat in a person's office all day waiting for the passport paper to be signed the last time required before printing Isaac's passport.  Well, he didn't sign the paper today, so maybe tomorrow we will get it signed.  The US Embassy only works until about noon on Fridays, so I'm thinking we won't get to complete our interview and paperwork there until the beginning of next week.  This means that we will not be arriving back in the USA until next week! :(

Right now we are in need of prayer for patience!  Chad and I are trying our best to keep it together and not take out our stress on one another, but this is easier said than done! We all know how I like to jump right in and get things done....I'm not the best at sitting around and waiting, waiting, waiting, and waiting some more!  God is certainly teaching us to rely fully on Him and not on our time and schedules.  But, then again, like I am a planner or a list maker anyway!?!? I most definitley did not and do not have a calendar drawn on the back of an envelope with expected dates and an agenda or a list of things still needed to be completed on the opposite side with check marks and intended dates! :) So, my memory verse for quite a while is and will be~ "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." Phillipians 4:6

Blessings,

Good morning

This is what we call a

Good Morning!

Everyday this is Isaac when he wakes up :)

 

Things are still progressing as we had hoped.  Tomorrow is yet another big day; as we hope to get his passport!!

Announcing our new baby boy ...

Announcing to you the newest member of the Thompson family ...

 

Isaac Kelvin Thompson

 

 

 

Below is our first picture with Isaac

 

Sleepy boy with his Daddy on our long drive back to Kampala

 

Visiting the old orphanage

 

 

Happy after a great day in court & eating pizza at Nando's.  ...oh my goodness...mushroom and cheese pizza with almost NO sauce....yummo! It was as good as being at LaRosa's ;)

 

 

 

Walking into church

 

 

Now we are just waiting for Isaac's Passport, then meeting with the US Embassy so we can have our whole family together.  Pray for our patience as well as a speedy process!

 

Praying for tomorrow

The orphanage which Isaac was in is new and so nice!  It is directly across from the school and church. It has working showers and bathrooms!  

Isaac is known around here with our new American friends as "Little Bill" because of his walk/strut and adorable pinchable cheeks. He is sometimes the happiest boy around.  We crack up at his huge belly laughing! 

Tomorrow is a big day for us. We present all the necessary documents to the judge and are hoping to be granted guardianship of Isaac. We then have to wait for the embassy to finish up the rest for us. Pray for the judge's decision tomorrow.  Also pray that we are not selected (as random families are) by the US Embassy to be investigated. That would mean a longer stay.  We are really missing our family during the days when we have so much idle time. 

I just read my devotion in Jesus calling from 9/17 and it was SO needed and directed at me to give over anxiety and worry...all of our planning means nothing bc He has this in control

Big City, Balcony, & Big Day

We left the village of Bussia early yesterday and are back in the big city of Kampala.  We are staying in a beautiful mansion with our very own suite and balcony. 

They also have plenty of toys for Isaac here. 

We had our court date with the judge this morning.  We met with the attorney yesterday to make sure everything was in order; which is when we were informed Chad needed a button down shirt, and that his polo wouldn't suffice.  After attempting to buy a shirt and discovering the price was $60 we traded shirts with our hired driver. ;)  Everyone knows me... always looking for a bargain!!  Of course I know the exact number of texts I have sent and phone calls so as to have a tally of the phone bill in my head.  hehe. 

So, back to more about the court date.  Court went well.  We have to gather a few more documents and next Wednesday will be the ruling, then we should have guardianship papers in our hand. :)

Thanks as always for your continued prayers!

Just Some Tidbits

• Isaac is transitioning great! His house mama at the orphanage can't believe how he will come to us when she is in the room since we are new.  We are guessing the book we sent him several months ago has helped.  It was a board book with pictures of him, each of us, the girls, our house, our dog, tractor, etc.  He is very protective of HIS book!
• He is saying Mommy and Daddy & I think I heard him say sissy when looking at the book.
• We are eating pretty good.  I am eating plain rice or spaghetti.  Chad is eating sweet potatoes, rice w/sauce, spaghetti w/homemade spaghetti sauce.  But to top it all off ... they have MT. DEW!!!!!!!!!! :)
• Isaac loves to eat anything, but especially bread!  Any type, anywhere!  He will not eat the typical food here called poshoe (poe-show).  He LOVES fruit!
• Isaac is using the potty!!!
• Chad is fine, OF COURSE!
• I am a sweaty mess.  It rained yesterday and I washed my hair in the down spot of water so I can keep my foot away from any water due to the injury.  I could have stood in the rain all night.  Everyone else here was freezing with jackets on. ;)
• We went to see the old orphanage yesterday.  They moved into the new orphanage on Saturday before we arrived on Sunday.  I want to take every kiddo here home :(
• We also got to meet the lady who found our son when he was abandoned.  It was a very emotional day.  It was the first time she had returned since dropping him off.  Just when we happened to be here.  She came to ask how the "found baby" was doing.  Very neat, but so emotional.
• Isaac is so happy!  Biggest smile... :) Can't wait for everyone to see it!  He has only had one fussy episode when we arrived to the orphanage.  The thought is that he was afraid we were bringing him back and leaving him.
• Court date is Friday, so keep praying!  Pictures will follow after things go as we hope on Friday!!

We have arrived!

Just a quick post to let you know we have arrived safely and have our sweet Isaac.  We arrived at roughly 10pm (Ug*nda time) and got to spend some time with him before we put his jammies on & he went to sleep. Hope to purchase an internet card tomorrow so we can tell you more!!

Thanks for your prayers (both leading up to today & for the remainder of our time here.) :)

In the air to see him!

Said our goodbyes at school this morning.  Last family photo as a family of four.  Party of 5 coming soon!!

Nothing like a little drama for the day.  While unloading luggage at CVG a suitcase landed on my toe and .... toenail popped right off!
 

 

We managed to get an antibiotic, neosporine, saline, & bandages then boarded the plane as planned. 

 

On our way, Isaac :)

 

 

Ready for take off!

We have been able to enjoy a three day weekend with our girls, but our house is quite chaotic!  Our suitcases are packed and ready to load the plane! We are going to take off on Thursday from Cincinnati and arrive back home (hopefully) Saturday, Sept. 22nd!

Court Date Set!!

Our social worker called and let us know that our court date has been set...September 11th! This date can not come soon enough.  We received new pics of Isaac from the agent and we cannot believe how much he has grown in just a few months.  She let us know his shoe size and clothing sizes as well, needless to say I had to do a lot of unpacking and repacking! :) Not that the suitcase has been packed since March!

2 Updates

Today we received an update on our adoption process and on Isaac. 

1. We found out that our last required paper work was received by our attorney...the last step before we get our court date!!!  We are so anxious to wrap our arms around him.

2.  Our little trooper has been ill with malaria.  He was taken to the hospital, received treatment, and is now back at the orphanage.  This made me ill to my stomach when first reading this information, but since then I've calmed down and realized that God has watched over him and will continue to. 

God bless,

Spaghetti and Friendships

This weekend we were blessed to have many family and friends come to our spaghetti dinner fundraiser.  Of course, I was a nervous wreck that no one would show up and then what would we do?  Well, of course, God came through once again~ almost 300 people came! Chad and I both felt blessed beyond measure.  We never realized just how much support and prayers that our community had for us.

As for the updates, we are waiting...the yucky part!  We are so anxious to find out what date the judge has for us.  Knowing we will one day hold our baby boy in our arms is going to be worth the wait!

God bless~

Finger Prints & Shopping

Chad and I went for our finger prints in Cincinnait this week.  Being that we were on spring break, and he had taken the day off, we were able to get some things together for our travel.  Of course, we weren't able to get all of the items in one day, but we certainly got a jump start!  

Later on in the week my middle sister and I went shopping for Isaac's room.  The girls and I had a lot of fun picking out boy stuff for once.  Who knew that boy stuff could be so much fun, after all, we only have pink and purple things...mainly being high heels, baby dolls, and dress up clothes!  Following the shopping spree my oldest sister arrived ready to paint his name to hang above his dresser.  Let the fun begin. :)  

Update

This week we received our first update on Isaac.  He weighs 23 pounds! We are soon going to receive updated pictures from a missionary that just returned from the orphanage. :) Everytime I print off a picture of him and frame it one of my girls take it and put it in their room...they are just as eager to have him here as Chad and I.