February 3 Update – An Epic Adoption Story
Where in the world do we begin? We haven’t had time to really reflect. We have rushed from one appointment to another ignoring the jetlag except for the occasional nap in the taxi (Robert is guilty). As you might recall we didn’t find out we had to be in Uganda by Monday (January 31) until Thursday (January 27). So, we arrive in Uganda. We’re completely unprepared and forget to pack some bug spray in a carry on. The whole time we wonder if we might get bitten, and because of the short notice we hadn’t begun our Malaria meds on schedule. Ooops! We had to wait in the long Visa line since we were unable to get it prior to departure. When we travel as a team we always get visas ahead of time. The next event is reason why.
We go to get our luggage and we begin the process of identifying four suitcases. The first suitcase I grab, isn’t ours. It has a pink ribbon on the handle and is black in color, but Kristi notices that it is Jeep luggage, not American Tourister. So, I place it back on the conveyor and proceed to retrieve the other pieces. After watching the conveyor for 20 minutes it becomes increasingly likely that we are missing a piece of luggage. It just so happens that it is the luggage with all of Kristi’s clothing. The twists and turns continue. Is it another roadblock, or another opportunity for growth? It turns out the luggage was taken by accident and returned to the airport the following day.
We register the lost luggage with the airport and they ask for contact information. We don’t have it. In our rush in America I failed to get phone numbers for Lucas and Prossy, and they had not arrived to pick us up. So, I was given a phone number by the luggage folks to call the following day to check on the status of the luggage.
The long wait was actually a good thing as it gave Lucas and Prossy time to arrive. Almost as soon as we exit the airport doors Lucas and Prossy and our three precious children walk toward us. The kids were shy and timid and told us that they loved us, but it was a muted response – once again nothing like we had envisioned. Kristi was emotional, but I was once again stuck in some kind of funk as the stress of the lost luggage had somehow robbed us of the joy of the union. It was still good, but not the overwhelming emotional experience we had anticipated.
The one we will call Lucas was Daddy’s boy from the beginning. He wants to hold Daddy’s hand when we walk, and ride in the same seat when we take a taxi. He has a tender heart, and is very respectful and minds us without hesitation. The one we will call Lilli was a little afraid of Daddy at first, but it only took a day for that fear to be transformed. She had no issues with Mommy. Lilli is a monkey and loves to climb just about anything. She seems to get her second wind the moment it is time to go to bed. We have to be insistent with her and firm in our commands in order to coax obedience from her, and the obedience is at times only for a moment. As soon as she thinks we have forgotten what we told her she tries to do it again. The one we will call Kamri was a little distant and continues to be the most shy, which is different than we had expected based on others’ experiences, but she is warming up to us. She will often instigate Lilli’s bedtime energy.
While we had decided to call them by their current names it is difficult to communicate when two of them are named Fiona. So, we soon adapted their names calling them Lilli Fiona and Kamri Fiona. Not wanting Alex to feel left out we called him Lucas Alex. Now we are beginning to drop the middle name as they are responding better to their new names. I’m sure there will be a little confusion when we are able to return to Busia and the kids are able to see their friends once more, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
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