Thirsty....

Ok, I know it's been forever since I posted. Actually if you're reading this, it might be your first time. (I've had it private for a while due to our adoption process....just to be safe) I went the whole time I was in Uganda and didn't post ONE time! The internet sticks they have there didn't plug into my darn IPad.....really made me mad! But to tell you the truth, I was exhausted EVERY SINGLE DAY I was there. I'm talking about the kind of exhausted where I would've never been able to put into words what we did, much less how I was feeling. Don't see how the moms update day to day about their journey with pictures and all, but I give it to them....wasn't be at all though. Thankfully I was able to talk to my husband and he sent out the most wonderful email updates....he's much better with words anyway. I know over time I will share experiences, but until then I'm just gonna start with the now.

Our first night we had Steven and Mark in Uganda :) I look really tired don't I...I didn't have a clue what was to come.



When I think about how I got to my life as of now, and all the details that God had to orchestrate in order to make it happen....it simply blows me away. There are some crazy things that have happened in order for us to adopt. I mean it's not everyday someone gives you $25,000 because they know it's what God is telling them to do! (talk about radical) So over the last year God has really taught me to trust in him and I've never been closer with Him through this journey, trusting Him in everything we did and then finally bringing our boys home. And let me tell you six weeks in Uganda will put you in a place where all you can do is trust him with everything you have.

But.....were home now, and getting pretty settled into our life together as a family of SEVEN! The girls act as if there was never a day that the boys weren't here. Steven and Mark seem to be doing well. They've been sleeping good during the night. (except for a few wake ups that you could count on on one hand) Now we have our bad moments don't get me wrong, with a family of five kids, two of them being toddlers, a set of seven year old twins, and a four year old.....there is always someone whining or crying over something. Issues with my children will have to come in another post.

All my children look so sweet and happy together

With our children adjusting pretty good you'd think that I'd be happy. And I am happy...sort of, but not happy with the way I've felt lately. I've had a feeling that something was missing. You see It's like we've been on this journey of adoption and now we're home, and this is it! If you were to come to my house you would find me most days still in pajama pants and a t-shirt. Everyday I do laundry, (mounds of it) dishes, clean up toys,yelltell my seven year olds to get dressed 1 million times, and change the worst smelling diapers ever. I do all this every. single. day. My job is never complete and my house is NEVER clean. (don't think my floors have been mopped since all the WONDERFUL girls came and cleaned my house before I got home....you will never know how much I love you for that!) And to tell you the truth, my time with God....it's slim to none) I look at my life as of now and think....God you've brought me on this journey and now THIS?! This is an unexpected cliff I've stepped off of into the wilderness.

Believe me I know what you're thinking....how can she be complaining? I know, I feel guilty for even thinking a bad thought about my life right now. All my children are safe and sound tucked in their beds every night. We have food on our table everyday. We also have a roof over our heads. I have a husband that loves me more than anything. But I tell you, I struggle everyday to be a mom of 5 children. It's hard getting 5 kids together to go somewhere. It's a bit chaiotic in our house some most days, and it's very loud! Now would I trade it for the world....not a chance. What's happened though is I've been left a bit thirsty and dry. I need him more now than ever before, and he's taken me into the wilderness. Why, I haven't a clue. What I have learned this week though is that sometimes he takes us here for a reason. And I must yeild to this if I want to see God's power working in me. Because let me just tell you....I CANNOT RAISE 5 KIDS ON MY OWN! I also, can't be a good wife on my own or do adoption ministry without his help. So here I am spilled out only for Jesus believing he holds the pieces together in the palm of his hands. In what feels like an impossible time in my life right now, I can know that his word holds the truth.

And besides look at these littles faces....God is amazing and has blessed us beyond anything we can fathom!

Romans 8:35,38-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?.. I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor ANY powers, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING else in ALL creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have I told everyone that WE HAVE A COURT DATE?!?! Just checking :)

Guess What......

WE

HAVE

 A

COURT

DATE!!!!

After 2 weeks of being filed we have a court date of June 30th!

 Josh called me on Monday afternoon exactly 2 weeks of being filed, and said are you sitting down. I said "what is it?" He said, "Are you ready to go to Uganda.....we have a court date!" I screamed and scared Addi half to death...she dropped her juice and started crying.  By God’s grace, both boys have the same court date with the same judge, which is a miracle in itself, by the way!!!!  That date gets close to the court’s summer break, but our social worker said that the judge could issue his ruling during the break.  So as long as we make our date of the 30th, they won’t leave us hanging over the break (that’s the prayer anyway).  As a word of caution, she said with a date a few weeks away like ours, the judge’s schedule could vary and he could move it up or back a few days if he chooses or if something conflicts with his schedule. So please pray with us that we are still seen before the break.....we know how things happen there.

Don't know when I'll breath again...probably not until we arrive back home with both boys in our arms! 

Got an email from a sweet friend after receiving the update about the court date and what she said was so perfect. I love that lady by the way ;)

Awesome! God's timing will be spot on! Praying for the judge reminded me of that vs in Proverbs that says the kings heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord, He turns it wherever He wishes! The judge may not be a king but he is a ruler in your situation so be assured God is in control! HE is so good~Sk:)

The video below is what we filmed for Desperation Church in Cullman. Andy is doing a Faith series and wanted to use our story and what God has done in our lives. This video was shown on Sunday as Andy talked about stepping out on Faith. GFBC also prayed over us Sunday as well. We got the call on Monday....pretty neat how God works! Just saying.....

Click here and scroll down we are the second story.

Update....

There are a few updates I need to catch everyone up on. There have surly been some ups and downs on this journey that God has us on, but we knew that was coming....doesn't make it any easier though. We know that God has called our family to this and we are so grateful that he has allowed us to be apart of it. With that being said we are a bit further along than before.

With our papers in Uganda and us waiting a little over a month, our papers FINALLY got filed on Monday May 9th! This was a huge blessing and lifted a great weight off our shoulders. This is huge, because now that our paperwork is filed, we are “officially” in line for a court date!!!!  Keep in mind, this doesn't mean we have a court date just that we finally are in the last stages of this process. There have been many delays in this past month that have needed lots of prayer. Uganda has been a bit unsettled and we feel the court needs prayers on behalf of adoptive families. Timing is everything in this adoption process as we know God has everything in His hands, but Summer break for the courts in Uganda are coming in mid-July so we’re praying that we are granted a court date before then. Just this week we got an email from our Social Worker that read, "Hey Josh--good news! You have been assigned the judge...... We do not have a date secured yet, but we are thankful to be one step closer! Will keep you posted."  This has got me so excited that I can't stand it! We are one step closer to the little boys that we have come to love soooo much!

I can tell you it's been a rough wait these past 2 months. I have been on a faith journey like never before. I have cried almost every day. I've even questioned if we were doing the right thing. I haven't liked the way I've felt at all. But, what I can tell you is that God has been with me every single day. I have cried out to Him like never before and when I thought I couldn't cry out anymore He would pick me up and say what else do you have to tell me. Through His word he has thought me no matter what I can run to Him and, and though I may fail He can be my strength.  Psalm73:26 says  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Please remind me of this when I'm in country away from my girls and husband and things really get tough. Or when the boys are here and we are a CRAZY family of 7! Oh how I long for this day......God holds it in the palm of His hands.

* Pray that we get a quick court date.
* Pray for Steven, Mark, Ella, Avery, and Addi (whoa haven't typed all those names together before)  that God prepares their hearts for whats to come.
* Pray for "Our Judge" and all judges that sees adoption cases right now.

Waiting....

Ok, so things are slow right now. A kind of slow that puts you in a place where your mind starts to wander and gets you in a low place...if you know what I mean. I've been a bit busy so I haven't had too much time to let myself go there, but when I do it hasn't been good.

I've been thinking about two little guys over in Uganda.

Wondering while I was there the last time in November if I held them and loved them enough.

It's becomng a longer wait than I expected and I haven't seen those brown eyes in a while. You see I can't seem to look at their picture right now... I feel I would break down and cry if I stared too hard at their little faces.

The girls ask me when their brothers are coming home and I don't have an answer.

I've been waiting each week for our papers to be filed....and each week I've been told they are being worked on. This has been going on for a month now.

The only thing that gets me through the day is knowing that God IS in control. It is in His hands! The love I gave in November to Steven (not even sure I gave hugs and kisses to Mark) may not have been enough, but God's love is! Knowing that God is the one that called our family to adopt these boys, and he will bring us through is enough for me to get through each day.

Please pray with me that our papers get filed quickly and we get a court date soon!

Little Mark

Just in case you were wondering about Mark....here is some info on our other little guy. I love the updates Betty from Sonrise writes on the babies there. Thank you friend for letting us see a little glimpse of our boys before we get there.

Baby Mark

Mark  has really changed a lot in physical appearance and character. He is so muscular, strong, and energetic . He is always the first one ready to do new things. We are always surprised by how fast he learns. He has such strong legs that he is so firm on the ground and balances really well, which is usual for babies of his age. Mark is a special baby that has a very welcoming smile, and leaves you quickly attached. He is a very nice baby to play with because he is so funny. His big smile always brightens your day.

He is so kind to all his friends. He always tries to pat them but his hands are so big and he is so strong that it always seems like he is hitting them instead! He is really generous- he is always sharing his bits of food.

Steven has been very active in learning new words and so mark has started picking up a lot from him. He can now say words like No, NANGE (meaning me too), bye , Go, Auntie  Santi,  Auntie Loyce, kitchen, water, pant . He is so cutie when saying all these words and it melts our hearts with great joy to see little Mark saying so much.  He also really loves animals! He has been chasing all living creatures that crawl on two legs (especially the chickens) in the compound. Chasing chickens shows how brave and bold Mark is. He acts like such a little man around the house.

Mark loves singing a lot and he can be a very good musician in the morning during potty time. He is very active in singing and clapping. Potty training at Sonrise is dead without singing and clapping of hands! We believe that through singing, potty training is flexible and EASY for our dear loved ones that are still growing at the baby home. Mark really loves singing a song that says BABY JESUS, I AM A FRIEND OF JESUS. It’s  such an amazing moment whenever Mark sings to us every night in the room before sleeping.  It just makes every one wonder and fall in love with him.

One of the things Mark really loves to do is to go swimming.  We have a small pool that our babies play in and have fun with water. It’s so funny for the babies when they fall and roll in the pool! Unfortunately because of too much excitement, some of the babies have bitten it and it is always leaking. Every morning when we prepare the swimming pool, we have to glue it up!  Mark has always found it fun to open the gate and always be close to it ,this makes it easier for him to get to go somewhere with Richard, Joseph, Ivan, or Damali when they are going to town. He especially loves shoes a lot because shoes are a sign that there might be a trip to town.  This morning he had on a watch and he felt like he was on top of the world, he really loves looking cutie and all dressed up. He kept his hand up so that the other babies could see what he had on his hand, making sure it was clearly noticed and appreciated.

He is also a good teacher, he points to the wall where we have all the charts of numbers. He is beginning to get some letters in his head like A, B, D, G  and some of the last letters in the alphabet. He is such a sweetie  pie to be around. He also loves reading , and looking at pictures and the different books that we have. He’s getting good at playing soccer though he falls down when he kicks the ball. But the smile that he always has shows that he is enjoying and loves what he’s doing .

Flashing before our eyes.....

Life seems to be going at lightening speed since my last post. There have been so many great things that we've found out....I better just get straight to the point!

Sunday Feb 27th as we were leaving church I got an email from Betty at Sonrise, with our second referral.  Steven's "baby" brother will be (God willing) baby Mark.  This was still pending his orphan investigation, which might be a little more difficult because his village is several hours from Sonrise. We were so excited to find this out...still a little in shock that we are adopting two, but praising the Lord that he is giving us TWO boys!

  All of our paperwork here (home study, immigration approval, etc.) was prepared for the adoption of two children, so we were okay there.  But there's a lot of work to be done overseas.  However, prayerfully, that shouldn't delay things, and by God's grace, we would be looking to travel in May.  The girls are extremely thrilled at the prospect of having another brother and can't wait to get to have them home!


So with this in mind we had to get started on a bit more funding.  We have a couple of more months to raise approximately $5000-$6000 for the second adoption, but considering what God has already done, we were not going to worry about that.  We started by having a yard sale which many of you gave tons and tons of your things to help me out.

I can't thank those of you enough who helped me in some way form or fashion! You helped brings our boys closer to home by $1200!!!!!WOOHOOO!!!!!!

 We also are selling this awesome t-shirt to help raise money for our funds. Desperation Church in Culluman has been so kind to give us these shirts and all proceeds go towards the adoption. They are $20 each....if you'd like one please email Josh.  josh@themortgagecenterinc.com




Now on the last day I held the yard sale I have to say we got some of the best news ever! I'd been waiting on these words for a long time. Our I-600A form (petition to adopt an international orphan) and home study have been at USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) for a little over a month now.  Josh called every week to see if our case had been assigned to an officer, and every week they tell him "no, sorry, still waiting".  I told Josh to stop calling because it was upsetting me a bit. Well, he decided this morning he would call anyway. Long story short.....we were APPROVED the day before!!!!  She said we should be getting our approval letter in the mail in the next week or so!!!!

So, Spring Break was this past week and me and the girls took a much needed get away to the beach! Thank goodness for family with a beach house! My sister came with me and I was really happy because we haven't been able to spend time together in a long time. She's having a little boy too in June. We will be a house full of boys in no time :)


So while I'm at the beach what comes in the mail, you guessed it....the approval letter! Our social worker also let's us know that our affidavit's are ready to be signed. Woohoo! This is a good week! So why are we so excited???  This is the final piece of the dossier that we need!  The dossier is the package of all the stuff they send to our Ugandan attorney.  Once he gets that and goes through everything, he will begin TRYING TO GET US A COURT DATE IN UGANDA!!!!!  This can technically take up to two or three months, however, our social worker said that they are moving extremely fast, and recently she has seen people travel within 30-45 days of getting immigration approval!!!  If that was the case, that would put us in country with our sons in APRIL!!!!  That's obviously not guaranteed, but that is what we are praying for.  We want them home by Mother's Day!!!!

   Have to be silly sometimes....it's the only way you'll make it in this crazy world!


OK, back to the good stuff. Josh brought everything with him to the beach on Wed and we signed all the copies. We sent them overnight via UPS. We got an email confirmation from our wonderful Social Worker Claire that said "Good news!  I received the affidavits and your entire dossiers are currently in transit to Uganda!  Have a great weekend!  Ya’ll stay in touch with thoughts and questions and I will let you know when Isaac tells me he has received everything!" So this is it...everything is done on our side. All we do is wait on our court date. I can't believe this...these two precious boys will be in our arms in less than two months. 

 Josh had sent out an email to many of our friends asking them if you get nothing else out of this email, please get this, all I can say is that God is so much bigger than the box we put Him in!!!!!  He has proven Himself more than faithful time and time and time again.  We've been literally left speechless everyday for about the last three weeks.  Through this adoption process, we have seen God's Hand in ways that we never would've imagined.  He is so much better to our family than we deserve.  We get the joy, He gets the glory!!!!!  To put it as plainly as I can, we are overwhelmed by Him right now, and that is exactly the place where we want to stay. All of this is true and so much more.  Sometimes I don't even have words to describe the way God is putting our family together. His ways are greater than I could ever imagined.

Please pray for an expedited court date!!!  I can't say this enough... your prayers, donations, and whatever else is appreciated more than you will ever know on this side of eternity!!!  I  can't wait for the day my family and you get to meet them!!!! :)

P.S Just had to send a special thank you to two brothers and a sweet girl (Paxton & Jacob Dutton and Hailey Taylor)that had a lemonade stand to "Help Bring the Boys Home".  They raised around $135 for Steven and Mark to make it that much closer to coming home.  That just blesses my heart to pieces!

An Act of Faith

I almost don't have words to describe what I've been feeling for the past 2 weeks.  It's hard to explain sometimes what God has been telling you. What he has been telling the Moody family has had me taking a step back asking God...."are you sure?" 

You see when we made the decision to adopt Steven it wasn't that scary....it was pretty easy. I knew God was telling us to do it and when God provided the money right before our eyes (literally).....we had no other choice but to obey!!!!  I can honestly say that when I think about it....it seems to come pretty easy.  Doesn't really put me out of my comfort zone too much either...I mean what's adding one more child when you already have 3?  This time though, God is asking a bit more of us, and he is wanting us to be out of our comfort zone so that we rely totally on HIM.  "If you think you can do it all on your own, and live a totally safe, comfortable life, how are you glorifying ME in that?".  This is what I was hearing Him say to me. I was also hearing Him ask me...."Do you believe the Bible, and if you do, do you live like it?" Do you serve like it? Do you worship like it? I had heard David Platt preach this in a sermon series this past summer and then a couple of Wednesdays ago Pastor Kevin asked the same questions.

I was thinking about this really hard that night, and wondering to myself "am I living here on earth as though I think I will be here forever"? That thought got me thinking about something Josh and I had been discussing before:  adopting 2 children. We have said that we would probably adopt again, but for now we would just adopt Steven.  Well, I can't keep thinking we might have a next time and there might not be a next year to show another child the love of Christ that we have to give from our family.  The chance might not be there again to ultimately share the Gospel with another child just because we think there would be another time.  I can tell you the answer to the question....  "Did I believe the bible?"....all of a sudden became very real.

All this to say that He is asking, no, commanding us to adopt another child along with Steven.  Yes, I said we are going to adopt 2 children!! Ahhhhh!  We know that the first question that immediately pops into everyone's mind when they hear that we are adopting two children is "are you crazy"?  The answer to that question is.....yes, probably a little.  We are about to take our wild and crazy family of five to an even wilder and even crazier family of seven.  Can we afford it?  Not on paper.  Will we have to give up stuff?  Absolutely.  Will our lives ever be "simple" or "comfortable"?  Not a chance.  Will the eternal ramifications of showing these children and the world the love of Jesus Christ be worth it?  Without a doubt.

See, this is another one of those things that puts us so far out of our comfort zone that we cannot even SEE our comfort zone anymore.  But I think that's how God wants it.  We will never fully experience His power until we completely rely on Him in situations that are utterly impossible by human standards.  Jesus took 12 regular lower class men, and literally turned the world upside down.  I'm sure at times, they had their doubts too.  But they stepped out on faith and shook the nations.  Why can't the Moody "7" do the same thing?

So that's that.  We now have to have two beds, two car seats, two sets of clothes, and a whole lot of faith, and more Jesus than we deserve to make this thing work.  We have no intention of  "easing" into it.  We're following.....all seven of us....and He's leading.  We're good with that.  Now all we need are lots of prayers coming from people we know and love. 

P.S. I know you're all wondering who the second child is.  We don't know yet, but are praying that God reveals that soon and things line up just in time with everything else.  Only God can orchestrate this just right.

I just had to share this latest blog post from one of my favorite families I follow now. Of Oreos and Redemption is what it's called. I can't help but think God's plans are soooooo much BIGGER than we think and way better too!

http://www.goodtobecrazy.com/

We got our Biometric Fingerprints done! We were able to walk right in with no problem.  Soooo excited about this, because this means we are just waiting for the approval in the mail!!!! WOOOHOOO! Now that's out of my system I wanted to send a little message from the girls to little Stevie!

Fingerprints!!!

OK, so I'm a little too excited about this....but I don't care. It's Valentines and I got some wonderful news today! I've been waiting on these for quite some time and they came in today!!!! So they say to come in on the 23rd....big deal. Me and my man are going in the morning!!! That's right not wasting anytime here. The worst they can do is tell us to come back, and we're taking that chance. Oh yea, I was so excited  I forgot to tell you our finger print appointments came in the mail. We absolutely have to have these in order to show up early. PRAY they will let us in and get these done. This is the final step that needs to be done on our end. I am seeing the light and I can't be more excited!!!! It's Valentines and I really don't like Valentines, but the LOVE my GOD has put in my heart for my family is amazing. The love I also have for that special little browned skinned baby across the ocean that will be in our family before we know it..... it's so strong I can barely take it in!! We're racing little man as fast as we can! XOXOXO

A little Update

There hasn't really been that much going on and to tell you the truth I don't really like that. I've been busy in other areas of adoption business.... just not mine.  The other day however, we got a little glimpse of hope that things might be moving some and I wanted to keep you posted on the progress, mainly because we covet your prayers like you would not believe!!!! I asked Josh the other day, "wonder how long we should wait before we call Immigration and see if they have our home study?"  You see it was finally approved by Alabama DHR last week and sent off to Immigration and I wanted to know if it made it and when we were going to get our appointment for our 2nd, yes I said 2nd set of finger prints! I"m telling you one thing..... if they don't have every bit of information on us after this I don't know who does. Well, Josh called me 30 min later and said, "I called them and we have an appointment." They finally have all of our paperwork (Alabama DHR approved and sent them our home study last week)!!!!! Praise Jesus. We have our final set of biometric fingerprints scheduled for later this month, 2/23, (but we plan to show up at the place and try to get them done sooner......yes, you can do that). When he spoke to the Immigration Officer (who he said was very kind and helpful by the way), she said they are trying to have families processed and approved through immigration in 6 weeks or less. That would put us being approved toward the end of March. From there, our social worker puts together our dossier, gets it to their attorney in Uganda, and they begin trying to get us a court date. Our social worker said it's been moving very quickly and she has seen families travel within a month and a half of immigration approval. We are trying not to get our hopes up too much, but Claire (our awesome social worker) thinks having Steven home by late spring is a very realistic possibility. Again, we know this is international adoption and there are so MANY things that could happen to delay it. I also know that God's timing is oh so perfect and he will bring that sweet boy here on his time and not ours.  In the mean time we will keep praying that our little boy keeps growing (but not too much) and God takes care of him.   The girls can't wait and pray for his arrival everyday. 

A wandering mind....

Did I mention that this last update of Steven has got my mind to wandering what he might be when he grows up. I can see it now....on a stage in a church where there are many colors of people, he stands there with a microphone. Steven welcomes everyone that morning and asks us to join in as we lift up praises to our Lord! I'm clapping my hands and smiling just to the back of him, because this mamma wouldn't miss being in the choir. With all this singing he loves to do I can just picture him as the perfect worship leader.

Then I'm sure with his love for the Lord he's already showing.... I'm seeing him taking the gospel to those who have never heard the word. His Dad would be proud....standing right there next to him telling him remember Romans 10:14-15 "How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? "Come on Steven, let's me and you go be his hands and feet to a dying world."

Like I said, my mind is wandering today and God only knows what he will be when he grows up. He might like basketball....Josh played in high school. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Update on Steven

I just loved this update on Steven that Betty wrote on him. It makes me feel like I am actually right there being a part of his little life. It's so hard sometimes with this waiting we are doing. I know that God has it in control, but reading sweet things like this makes it really tough. This mamma wants him here with us, but I know that he is taken very good care of at Sonrise by some very special ladies. :)

Steven is growing into a little man. He is such a caring baby and looks out for his little friends in the home. We just moved all the 3yr olds to the children’s home and we have some more room now. Steven has been moved to one of the rooms and now that he is grown and is able to talk a lot, he thinks he runs the home! He is turning into a baby sitter nowadays at the baby home. He loves all his fellow babies and he is so passionate about always comforting his friends when they are upset. He has recently been moved the room where baby Randy is and he has been watching over Randy all the time. If Randy is upset, he will say to him ‘Quiet…You are fine. Go to sleep.”  He says a lot of words to make sure Randy feels ok and goes to sleep before he will go to sleep himself.
He is speaking a lot and dances to every song no matter the rhythm. It has been really great to see steven do lots of things at his age. He is adorable when it comes to music and dancing . He dances for Jesus and loves saying the name of Jesus. We have put up a music system in the baby home for our babies to learn new songs and dance for Jesus. This has attracted Steven so much and he dances while looking up at the system. He loves to lead the dancing and it is so fun to watch him while he’s directing. He has a strong leadership personality and we always cheer him on to go for it .
Steven is still young by age but so so smart. He grasps every thing that adults do. Yesterday, one of the ladies was mooping with her feet  and steven happened to spill water down on the floor. He was told to clean it up and he actually did what the nannie did- he used his feet to clean up! He gets things like this in his little mind so fast.
Steven is  treat lover! He loves candy, sweets, chocolate and sodas. This morning, I (Betty) gave out some treats to all the kids and Steven swallowed his like nothing- he does not even chew!  I called him over and asked him to pass some chocolate to baby Paul and baby Randy. (My expectations were really high as I thought that he would hand that chocolate to the two babies.) Steven walked with the chocolates and once he reached half way to the two babies he stopped and ate the chocolates! Oh my goodness, we all busted into laughter when we saw him chewing the chocolates. he had a on this big beautiful smile that implied ‘bless you for sending me with the chocolates!’
Recently, we had some balloons for the kids at Sonrise. Steven is has a special expression towards balloons- he thinks they can walk and run. This morning he was talking to his balloon and he ordered it to move and go a head of him. When it didn’t move, he kicked it ahead of him and it ended up busting. This is where the fun began. Steven is the kind of person that loves enjoys peace and quiet, he doesn’t like loud noises. So when this balloon busted in front of him, he started screaming his head off! He loves attention so much. And of course he looked so sad so he was cuddled and we all said ‘Sorry Steven!’ He loved the attention. After a few minutes he was fine again and he stood up, smiled, and walked away.
Potty training: This has not been his interest since the Christmas season when all the toddlers started their potty training. When you call him for potty time he is so bold and says “NO!” Since about three weeks ago, he has tried his best to respect potty time and now his “No!” is quite less forceful. He resists but he loves potty time if  you sing , clap, and maybe read a book. We are trying to make potty training fun for all the kids so we sing different songs and clap our hands to Jesus. It kind of distracts them and they seem to be getting better at it. Yay!

Steven has been learning new words and he is mixing them together. He speaks both Luganda and English, you justhave to be a little careful to understand what he is saying. Some of his favorite new words are AGUDE (meaning he is falling , he is about to fall, he will fall), GENDA (meaning go away),  BUKKA ( jump over), calling his uncle Richard (UNCLE COME), FOOD, SORRY, MOMMY, DADDY, ADDI,SANTI(swahili meaning thank you).
Steven  is a very good singer (musician). He sings EVERY morning in the bathroom. If you walk past the bathroom you will hear him singing his favorite song that says “BABY JESUS I LOVE I LOVE YOU ,YOU ARE MY SAVIOUR.” It is so sweet  hearing him sing every morning to all the babies. The baby girls think he is a HERO. He is a good brother to them all. We love him so much and we pray that he grows in the knowledge of God and continues to sing to Him everyday.

Sonrise Video

Thought I would share one of my families favorite videos of the children at Sonrise.  You can quickly tell why....Steven says a little "yea," right in the middle while singing and they just love it.  It's downloaded on my Ipad and I catch them watching it over and over.  To tell the truth I do too ;)