We didn't want them to know about us too soon as it is difficult for a child to know why it takes so long to come get them. At the same time they are at an orphanage where other parents are coming and going so it is natural that they would ask questions. We discussed this with our coordinator and fully trusted our agency and the caregivers to time this as well as possible.
This last week we were informed that our children now know about us. With that news came an invitation to write them a letter. I found writing to my kids for the first time to be overwhelmingly intimidating. You would think I would have written it that day and sent it off just as quick as possible. Instead it took days.
I felt like I needed to say everything at once. I felt like it needed to be some kind of poetic work of art. I felt like it had to be perfect.
Finally I realized that this would not be the only letter that they would recieve from us. So I decided to take it one step at a time. I focused on our excitement, how many friends and family are waiting to meet them, and how much we already love them. With the next letter I will focus on how they will go to school when they get home and how we already have their backpacks and school supplies all ready to go.
I plan to keep all of these letters to go in a scrapbook. (Are they still called scrapbooks when you do it digitally and then have a pretty, bound, professional looking book done?) I hope these letters will be a treasured piece of both our history and theirs.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Shots and Malaria
Today we got our shots for traveling to Uganda. I had to get 4 and Josh had to get 5. And man did they hurt! No, this does not mean that we have a travel date yet. It is just something that we have to do now in order to be ready when the time comes.
I'll be honest, the diseases that these vaccinations are meant to protect us from flat out terrify me. I can't seem to get my mind off of the fact that we are the lucky ones. We are able to get these shots. Yes they hurt like crazy, but they protect us. Can you imagine living in a country where things like Polio and Typhoid are a very real threat and having no protection at all?!? No shots. No money for a doctor if you do get sick. No protection. Can you imagine getting sick and being too poor to just go to a doctor for help? Can you imagine your spouse or your child getting sick and watching them die? This is real life for so many people in this world.
When we go to Uganda we will get a prescription for anti-Malaria medication. Just about every American traveling to Uganda does this. We are also instructed to buy the strongest possible mosquito repellent and bring plenty of it. But what if Uganda was your home? What if every mosquito that buzzed by was a danger to your life? What if you had no anti-Malaria medication and no mosquito spray and no bed nets to keep you safe while you sleep?
2,000 Children die from Malaria every day! That is one every 40 seconds. How many have died since you started reading this? How many since you got on your computer? Does this sadden you? Do you want to close out this screen so that you can stop thinking about it? Don't! Don't you dare brush away the death of God's beloved children.
I know that it is still August and Christmas is months away but it will be here in no time. Do you have someone on your shopping list that already has everything? I want to suggest a gift idea. What if you give a loved one a bed net? Why would they need a bed net? They don't. But someone does. Your gift to them could also be a gift to someone else. Just $6 is enough to buy a bed net which will protect 2 or more children for approximately 4 years. Will you think about it?
World Vision End Malaria Link
I'll be honest, the diseases that these vaccinations are meant to protect us from flat out terrify me. I can't seem to get my mind off of the fact that we are the lucky ones. We are able to get these shots. Yes they hurt like crazy, but they protect us. Can you imagine living in a country where things like Polio and Typhoid are a very real threat and having no protection at all?!? No shots. No money for a doctor if you do get sick. No protection. Can you imagine getting sick and being too poor to just go to a doctor for help? Can you imagine your spouse or your child getting sick and watching them die? This is real life for so many people in this world.
When we go to Uganda we will get a prescription for anti-Malaria medication. Just about every American traveling to Uganda does this. We are also instructed to buy the strongest possible mosquito repellent and bring plenty of it. But what if Uganda was your home? What if every mosquito that buzzed by was a danger to your life? What if you had no anti-Malaria medication and no mosquito spray and no bed nets to keep you safe while you sleep?
2,000 Children die from Malaria every day! That is one every 40 seconds. How many have died since you started reading this? How many since you got on your computer? Does this sadden you? Do you want to close out this screen so that you can stop thinking about it? Don't! Don't you dare brush away the death of God's beloved children.
I know that it is still August and Christmas is months away but it will be here in no time. Do you have someone on your shopping list that already has everything? I want to suggest a gift idea. What if you give a loved one a bed net? Why would they need a bed net? They don't. But someone does. Your gift to them could also be a gift to someone else. Just $6 is enough to buy a bed net which will protect 2 or more children for approximately 4 years. Will you think about it?
World Vision End Malaria Link
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Building Bunk Beds
Today a wonderful friend came over and spent FIVE HOURS helping me assemble our Ikea bunk beds. I feel so blessed to have a friend who loves us and our kids enough to spend the majority of her Saturday working on this project with me. We had a great time chatting and laughing all along the way.
70 Pages of instructions
56 Boards
267 Screws, bolts, dowels, and thinga-ma-jiggies
1 Completed set of bunk beds!
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