Together at last - Our adoption journey!

 Such an amazing time picking up Peter today.  It felt surreal in a way.  Jett and Ashtyn were so hyper in the car in the car on the way.  As we got there they had us go into a living room area and brought out Peter.   He is so shy and was very nervous.  If you tickle him though he can't help but smile.  

The orphanage itself made you glad you could give him a better life but also want to figure out how to make the lives of the children there better.  A girl by the front had sores all over.  Children had flies completely covering there head and would just let them stay.  Children with no pants on and their nose dripping down.  As we pulled away I saw a girl probably Ashtyn's age pick up a piece of trash and use it as a tissue.

On the drive home Jett and Ash insisted that Peter sit with them in the back seat.  Slowly he is warming up.

His first meal here at the guesthouse was great.  He loved the rice and once that was gone he ventured out to the chicken, spaghetti and pineapple.  Ashtyn and Jett were pooped.  We all had laid down for an afternoon nap and we woke them up for dinner and Jett couldn't stop crying until he fell asleep again and Ash was falling asleep at the table.  When we went back to the room Skyler, Ashtyn and Jett all passed out.  I really saw Gods hand in this moment where Brad and I could truly spend time with Peter alone.  Until this point he had not spoken one word.  I read him a book which he loved.  He is very timid which is to be expected.  If you tickle his ribs just a little you get the hugest smile.  So then Brad brought out Jett's Spider-Man sticker book and his first words to us were "Spider-Man".  Brad and I just looked at each other loving this moment.  He then proceeded to say a variety of other words.  Then Brad brought out some plain paper and they began drawing.  He wrote the most perfect P which leads us to believe he is a very good writer.  Skyler was going to be bummed because she had been trying to pry a word out of him all day and acting silly to get him to smile.  She wanted us to teach her Luganda so she could talk to him.

Peter has had to have white cream all over his head because he has really bad ringworm and a rash.  He's also had to swallow medicines (pills and liquid) and has handled it all like a champ.  We are planning to take him to a doctor in the next few days because he seems to be having some other health issue that we would like to figure out.

Thank you for you prayers for our family on this journey!  We are hoping to get a court date next week but we know there is a good chance it won't be granted as we are cutting it extremely close to the summer recess.  No matter what we are here as a family.

Blessings, Laura







Jett and Ashtyn handing out candy.


There were lots of babies.  Three sets of twins there. 







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