Home at Last!

Thankful to be home with Nico!  The night before we left Uganda Clint and Nico had one last sword fight...with their special head gear, of course. Ah, Uganda....we will miss you.

The next morning was a doozie. 2:00am does not come easy for any of us...no matter how awesome your traveling bag is.

Our stop in Amsterdam was short, but we were so glad to have some time out of the planes and airports and to introduce Nico to some of his first family members. :)  He was shy at first, but it didn't take long for him to warm up to Chris and Julie. So beautiful! We enjoyed dinner and a restful night at then it was off to the airport again.

Nico did great on the flight home. We had a whole row to ourselves which meant there was room for sleeping and some goofing off, including a pillow fight.

 

Nico really enjoyed finding new goodies in his backpack. 

 He took a picture of this one himself. I think he's equally proud of his monster truck AND his chapstick.

Our second leg of the trip was a bit longer. We had a long layover and then our flight actually got delayed a couple of hours. By the time we got on the plane we were all pretty exhausted. Nico had no problem crashing out the minute his head hit the pillow.  He was out for the whole flight. :)

It was so, so good to touch ground in Albuquerque! By the time we got home around 11pm Nico wasn't sure if it was bedtime or time to get up! The first thing that caught his eye was his little bike. He started riding it all around. It was even the first thing he wanted when he woke up this morning (at 3am!).  We have some jet lag to conquer I guess...

Overall we feel SO blessed how well Nico is adjusting. We are hopeful that he will continue to feel at home in our family! He is such a gift and we can't wait to learn more and more about his sweet little personality. We are hoping to continue updating our blog as often as we can. Especially for our family to see how Nico is learning and growing. Love you all so much! We thank God for all of you and for your incredible love and support throughout this whole process!

Clint, Jo and Nico

In Transit

We just landed in Amsterdam, and to our great surprise, immigration is going to give us a temporary entry for Nicholas to visit his aunt and uncle here! We are not flying home until tomorrow morning so to be able to spend the night with my sister, Julie, and brother-in-law, Chris, is a-mazing (especially since we won't see them again until next year!). We left the guest house in Uganda at 2am this morning so a good night's sleep will make such a difference for all of us tomorrow. Plus, time with Julie and Chris will be priceless for the little guy (even if he doesn't realize it!)

Nico did a great job on the plane rides today. He loved looking out the window and sitting in his own seat (although he wasn't a huge fan of the seat belt).  He even crashed out for nearly 4 hours! Hopefully he will still sleep tonight....

We've been keeping Nico's travel bag a secret the whole time we've been in Uganda. But last night as we were packing he discovered it. It's a little rolling backpack with his little red moto-car on it (from Cars). He was flippin' out. He couldn't stop showing everyone in the guest house and trying to open it to see what was inside.  He even had a hard time going to sleep! As Clint was getting him ready for bed last night he was jabbering on and on about something and pounding at Clint's chest. An older Ugandan child was there and translated:

"If I go to sleep, you'll steal my bag! So then, I will beat you now...so that I can go to sleep, and you won't be able to steal my bag!"

It's a whole new world when we can understand what he says!

Hoping to arrive in Albuquerque Tuesday evening. Thanks so much for sticking with us!! See you all soon!

Communication is Key

So, this kid is pretty smart (we think).  Although we don't understand 90% of what he says, when we do get translation (from an older child nearby) it sounds pretty clever and cute (and sometimes pretty ornery).  Here's a couple of samples:

We gave Nico a snack the other day while in the car.  We also gave our host, Rashid a snack at the same time.  We then parked, got out, and started walking.  Rashid (in his 40's) jokingly asked Nico to share his snack with him.  So Nico says "You don't need mine, I saw them give you one too!"




This may not seem monumental at first, but keep in mind, this was the first full sentenced we had understood from him, ever.  And after working on "ball" "yes momma" and "green" all day, to hear an intelligible (and even funny) sentence, was pretty cool.

Here's another one.  I peaked into a room Nico was playing in with a neighbor child.  The older child told him.  "oh! It looks like your daddy is ready to leave.  You'd better hurry before he leaves you here!"  To that Nico replied calmly, "He's not going anywhere, he doesn't even have his shoes on yet."  :-)

Ok, now on to language learning.  Anytime he needs/wants something, we are encouraging him to notify us in English.  For example:

• I want a banana please
• I want more food please
• I want a drink please
• Up please
• down please
• etc.

Well, today, he was going "poo poo" and I asked "all done?" and he said something in Luganda that clearly meant "no, not done here."

So, wanting him to learn another English phrase, I said "Nico, say: More Poo Poo"

And without hesitation, he said, "more poo poo please"

:-)

Gotcha Day +18

Got Nico's visa! Best news ever!

 

Officially cleared for take off!! 

Clint preparing Nico for flying. :) Hmm..this pic makes this look dangerous...

Gotcha Day +16

T...I...A

We've heard this is a phrase commonly used by people who come to spend time in this part of the world. Perhaps it's used even more often when you are here to accomplish a task (i.e. adoption!).  TIA ("This Is Africa") means go with the flow...don't expect anything to run on schedule. Instead, just "enjoy life".

We are praying that we can just "enjoy life" the next few days.

Our Embassy appointment was today and (thank the Lord!!) we are approved to get Nico's visa. Whew! We were hoping 24 hrs would be enough time for them to process it so we could fly out Friday morning, but the Embassy assured us that it would not be ready until Friday afternoon. Bummer. So our departure date will be pushed back again. :(  With the crazy fare increases over the weekend, we decided the best thing would be to wait until Monday morning so we would only have to pay the transfer fee.

Again, we do not want to be discouraged that some things have not gone as expected. As we said before, people have been here much longer for this process so we want to be thankful. We are so thankful that Clint can keep up with some work from here so that we can finish this process together. Spouses often have to split up if things take too long.  I am especially thankful we don't have to do that! The thought of weaving through international airports with Nico and several suitcases makes me want to throw up. Ha.

So, we will remember to "enjoy life" as we finish up our time in Uganda. We will enjoy the lush vegetation, the moisture in the air, the tasty bananas and jackfruit, and the special time spent with little Nico who will be home to meet you all soon!! 

Every little boy likes to wear their Daddy's shoes

Gotcha Day +15

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the big day! We will show up at the Embassy as soon as they open the doors (as long as Kampala traffic cooperates!) and wait until they can get us in for our visa interview, hopefully no later than 2. Our biggest hurdle right now is getting his visa in time to head out on a flight Friday morning. That is the only flight we can transfer to that is available without a significant fare increase. So our hopes are that the visa will be issued by Thursday afternoon. We have been told that 24 hours is typically how long it takes...but who knows?? We are in Uganda, after all!

Today we got to do some shopping in Kampala. There were so many beautiful and unique things...I had the hardest time deciding what to get!  Clint was on the hunt for a Uganda soccer jersey and finally found one for himself and the little guy (although he may have to grow into it).

Don't worry, Nico...you'll get it.

Then the blowhorns turned into swords, of course.

Still enjoying our time with this sweet boy! Even though we have been anxious to get home lately, we are really, really grateful that we've had Nico with us the whole time. It's really been a blessing to have the opportunity to get to know him in his environment. We are sure this has helped him become comfortable with us so quickly. We are learning so much about him and his fun little personality even though we can't understand him when he babbles on and on. :)

Of course, it's not always smiles and giggles. There are definitely times when Nico needs correction and/or discipline and the locals have been very gracious to help us with that when needed. Even though it's hard (especially with a language barrier) we know it's all part of him recognizing us as his daddy and mama. And after a hard evening of tears and frustration, it's a beautiful thing when you're tucking him in at night and he asks you to get in bed with him. :)

Good night from Uganda! We'll be in touch tomorrow!

Just For Fun

Nico loves this game. We call it "Gotcha" :)

Gotcha Day +14

Time keeps on tickin', tickin', tickin'.....
 

We have some good news: we have everything we need to turn in to the Embassy, including Nico's passport and extended version of the guardianship order from court. Such a relief!

We have some bad news: we needed to get those items turned in to the Embassy by 10:00am today in order to get in for an interview for his US visa....and we didn't make it. :( 

Even after waking up very early to get a good start today, the passport office was a big speed bump. We waited for Nico's passport for over 3 hours! Then another couple of hours before the judge finally got to signing our final ruling (the long version).  Clint went by the Embassy in the morning to let them know how slow things were moving and asked them if they would still give us an interview today. Sadly, they would not make an exception. They could not do an interview until ALL of our paperwork was turned in. Booooo.

The Embassy only does visa interviews on Mondays and Wednesdays so we are going to try again Wednesday.  We are disappointed that we will have to change our flights and aren't quite on our way home yet, but we are VERY thankful that we are on the last step. We have actually run into other adoptive families here from the US that have been here for weeks and weeks...and still waiting on their court rulings and passports. So we definitely feel blessed that we are on the home stretch.

This pic pretty much sums up how we felt at the end of the day today....

Looking forward to a restful "off" day tomorrow which should help lift our spirits. May do a little shopping for some African goodies! We have seen hints of unique items here and there so hopefully we'll find some fun stuff to bring home. We'll keep you updated as things continue to progress. Hopefully we'll be on our way home by Friday!

lots-o-love!

Gotcha Day +12 & 13

This weekend turned into a time for some serious r&r.  We were hoping to get Nico's passport on Saturday but it didn't go through that quickly.  Bummer.  However, we have been assured that it will be ready by noon on tomorrow (Monday), hopefully earlier in the morning. So, that left our schedule pretty open the past couple days. Which spells F-U-N! And no need to change out of pjs if course :)

 

Nico taking some time to learn his colors!

 

 Dad clippin' nails. Nico was all about it.

 

Getting ready for the airplane ride!

 Rashid said the other day, "Mr. Clinton, did you know what? Mayende looks like you. You're not going to have a hard time convincing people he's your son."  Ha. Thanks, Rashid. :)

 Nico officially loves moto-cars more than anything else. He will make a car out of anything--blocks, placemats (weird but somehow possible), dominoes...and tonight a cardboard box.

  

Clint went out to a remote village today for church (same one we went to last week) and then to an event in the city for the rest of the day.  When he got back to the guest house tonight Nico was psyched! He ran to the room to get his shoes and ran out to jump on Clint. What a sweetie!

 

On tap for tomorrow:

• US Embassy to drop off court orders
• Passport office to check on processing Nico's passport
• Over to IOM (medical) office to show passport and get final report
• Back to the Embassy to turn in passport for Visa and interview

Given these places are all within two miles might temp you to think "that doesn't sound too bad" but traffic is so crazy here, it will take us 20 minutes to go two miles.

Please pray for us that people move quickly and processes go smoothly.  We really need to leave on Wednesday, and that means everything needs to move tomorrow.

Thanks for sticking with us!

English Lesson :)

Mastering English one word at a time!

Gotcha Day +11

It’s official!! Nico is ours and we are his!! 

So, so thankful for a productive day today. We were able to get in to see the judge as planned (3 hours later than appointment...but nevertheless!) to be given our ruling. 

And so we got to hear these sweet words:

“The applicants Clinton Craig Moore and Joanna Lynn Moore are hereby appointed legal guardians of Mayende Nicholas.”

This is such a big step in this process! Things should move along pretty quickly now and we are so thankful for how diligently people are working to get us home with our little guy. The next step is to get our passport (hopefully tomorrow morning) and then apply for his visa first thing on Monday. Please pray for this to go smoothly! Making our Wednesday flight would be a-mazing. :)

With all of the crazy-packed days recently we haven't had a lot of free time. We are in the car a LOT here and it amazes me how well Nico rides along and keeps himself entertained. Even the hours and hours we have spent in the waiting room at the courthouse this week don't seem to bother this kid! He is a content little guy. We did get to pass some waiting time at a large market here (kind of like their Walmart) and Nico got to try out this little "moto-car" which he LOVED.

 Bedtime is a sweet time. Even though we've been getting home pretty late each night we always spend a little time playing in our room. Nico loves to get chased by Clint and run to me for "protection". Then Clint will pretend to come after me and Nico will jump up and try to rescue me. Melts my heart! He's also enjoying the headlamp reading time before bed with dad. :)

We are encouraged that Nico's English is going to come quickly. It can be a little discouraging when we just can't seem to communicate something. However, for the most part, it's amazing how much he understands. A friend here said he already knows his Luganda language really well for a 3-year old and that, in the same way, he will probably "stockpile" English for a couple months and then just "unleash" one day. :) Ha. Can't wait for that! I'll try to post a video later today.

Love to you all!!

Gotcha Day +10

Today was pretty laid back.  We are still waiting for a correction to some paperwork, and we should get it first thing tomorrow.

We are also headed to get our ruling tomorrow from the Judge and are hopeful for a favorable ruling.

Thank you everyone for praying for us!

C,J,&N

Gotcha Day +9

After a pretty intense day yesterday of waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and then finally seeing the judge, we were actually able to sleep in today (Usually we leave the house by 6 or 7, and don't return until 8 or 9 at night).  So sleeping in was nice :-)

Finally some time to chill out from all the running around.  Nico digs the ipod.

On tap for today was getting little Nico tested again for Malaria to make sure his treatment worked.  And sure enough, it did.  Thanks be to God's common grace through the medical field.  His shot and three day treatment killed all the Malaria because they couldn't see any parasites on his blood test.

Malaria test was NEGATIVE!! Woo Hoo!  Dad was stoked!  Nico was indifferent. :-)

After dropping by the clinic for the lab test, we headed back into the city to the court house and waited while another family in our entourage had their court hearing.  They were scheduled for a 3:30PM hearing but didn't meet the judge until 6:30!!   Seriously, can you believe that? What a different culture this is than ours...  Hard to get used to...  But we don't have a choice.

Anyway, this family also got favorable feedback from the judge and he committed to an """"appointment""" for Friday afternoon for them as well to give the ruling.

So, what's left?

Thursday:  Acquire updated death certificate for Nico's birth father (their is a typo on the original) and take it to the Embassy (believe it or not, this will take all stinkin' day).
Friday:  Court ruling - appointment at 2:30 for us, 3:30 for another family with us.
Saturday:  Turn in court ruling to passport office for expedited service that morning.
Sunday:  Church and maybe some shopping?
Monday:  US Embassy first thing in the morning to schedule an interview
Tuesday:  Get Visa and passport back from Embassy
Wednesday: Fly out at 5:01AM

For this to take place, papers have to be perfect, people have to be happy, and processes have to be (somewhat) efficient.  So, obviously going to God on our behalf asking for that would be greatly appreciated.

Nico did well today.  We are very, very happy with how he is attaching to us.  He looks to us for food, for going to the bathroom, for getting him things he needs (we need to learn "show me" in Luganda), and how he seeks us for comfort and safety.  He is a super patient dude since momma and daddy don't know everything he's saying.  But it is clear he understands most of the things we say to him.  We are so, so thankful for this.

(Quick note: The spelling of our little man's name has been all over the place. We thought it was Nicolus before we got here...then he had a school uniform on when we arrived with it spelled "Nicholus"...then we got his birth certificate witch says "Nicholas".  So, we're sorry about the inconsistency in all of our spelling! :)  Don't know what we will settle on for the official name, but Nico is good for now!)

Court Date - Take Three!

We were finally able to see the Judge today.  After talking at length with us, the birth mom, our attorney, and the orphanage director, he scheduled us for a final ruling on this Friday. Based on his communication with us today we are hopeful that he will rule that we are fit to parent Nicho and that we can have the final ruling on Friday so that we can move on to getting his passport and US visa the next week.

When the judge first looked at his calendar to schedule our final ruling he assigned us October 28th. Our current flight home is scheduled for the 19th so this definitely made our stomachs drop. Clint decided to push back some. He asked very respectfully if we could move that date forward. The judge (who is a very large, rather intimidating man) reminded us that he was very busy and that we always have the option of one of us going home before the other to return to work. Clint continued to speak with him kindly communicating our concerns about that option. The judge began to look through his calendar again...and what seemed like an hour later, assigned us this Friday instead! But if we've learned anything this trip, it is that an "appointment" doesn't mean much. It was such a relief to walk out of there with a ruling for Friday but there is definitely a possibility that the judge can change that.  Please pray that he will get the ruling typed up and signed the next few days so we can, in fact, get our Guardianship Order on Friday.

Thank you all so much for praying.  We believe we are one step closer to being Nicho's' legal parents, and we are asking God to use us to shape him into a man that believes the gospel, loves God, and loves his neighbors.

Here's some pics from the last few days. Nicho really is a precious boy...we've learned so much about him this past week. He smiles and laughs a lot when we play with him. He cries when we give him his Malaria medicine and when he falls off his bed (only happened once so far....). And he's recognizing us as "dad" and "momma" which makes our hearts happy. :)

At Rashid's church (More pics & videos of this later! It was great!!)

Nicho ready for court!

Nicho's cute little outfit was FILTHY by the end of this day. But here we are all cleaned up :)

Passing time in court. I knitted a washcloth!

Yep, it was that bad.

 

Court Day - Take Two

We left the house this morning at 7AM, all dressed up (will try to send pictures later).

And we finally arrived at court at 9AM.  We were a bit early, so we waited and waited.  We finally walked into the courthouse around 12PM.  All three families were supposed to be seen by the judge today, but at around 1PM, our attorney came out from meeting with the judge and said that he would only see one family at a time.  One today, one tomorrow, and one the next day.  Our attorney said he had to fight for that, and that we were lucky the judge didn't push our court date to November :(

One of the families finally went in at around 4pm, and didn't get out until 6pm.  This whole time we were just sitting in a make shift court room, listening to music, reading, and playing with Nico.

When the first family finally got out, they said that the judge would not give them a final ruling until next Tuesday.  This was really discouraging to her and to us.  If we receive the same news, it could extend our stay here.

On one hand, we are thankful for the diligent judge who is really trying to make sure there is no funny business here, but on the other hand, we have children who need parents, and those parents cannot stay indefinitely in this country while the legal logistics are worked out.

So, if you would, please pray with us that we receive favor from the judge tomorrow and get a quick turn around on the judgement.

Clint and Jo (for Nico)

Gotcha Day +7 and Court Day

We just woke up on Court day.  This is a big day.

 Momma getting Nicholas ready for court.  Nico loving the tag.

Last night was pretty crazy getting all the last minute paper work filled out.

Please pray with us that God will have His way today, and that we will be content with the results.  Of course, we want this to go smoothly, with no hitches, no errors in our paperwork, but ultimately we trust in a good, wise, and powerful God that "works out all things for the good of those who love him, and are called according to his purposes." And we believe that through good and bad.

Also, an update on Nico's parasite friends, they seem to be moving out because he didn't have a fever at all today and really seemed to be feeling better all the way around.  We are praying that God will continue to heal his little body using the meds he's taking.

Gotcha Day +5

As we travel around and as we try to comfort Nicholas when he is not feeling well, we have been singing this old hymn a lot.  And today, we were tested to see if this verse of the song is true:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It was tested by a parasite:



We returned to the Immigration Health clinic today for his TB reading and we told the nurse about his fever and vomiting from two days ago.  She asked if he has malaria, and of course, we said "we don't know..."

She suggested testing him so of course we did, and of course, he hated that.  He gets over pricks and shots pretty quickly though :-)

The test was an "instant" test and she said he was indeed positive for Malaria.  So, we asked lots of questions about malaria, the treatment, the prognosis, etc.

Long story short, we made our way to a different clinic where they gave him a more specific test that counts the actual number of Malaria parasites in his bloodstream.  They then gave him a shot (had to hold the strong little guy down for that = not fun, but good for him), and then theysent us home with a medication to take tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday.  He will be retested again Wednesday to make sure it worked for him.

We are thankful to God that we caught it early, and that it is indeed treatable.

They assure us that they treat "no less than 10" malaria cases per day at this small clinic and that this is the treatment they always use and that it works.  So we are thankful that God designed our bodies to heat up when fighting parasites, and that he has used the science and medical fields to develop ways to cure illnesses.  Especially illnesses that can kill like Malaria, if left untreated.

After that, we attended a big celebration at the high school that is directed by our adoption host/pastor - Rashiid.  It is quite a legacy to see what this man and his associates have done to impact the young people of the community.  And the students all performed very traditional African dances.  The music and dancing was really amazing.  There was also a parade of all the high school students to kick it all off.

Tomorrow we head back out to Rashid's church.  I will be leading sunday school, and another friend from America will be preaching the sermon.

Our boy is sleeping, we are headed there too, and above all, it is indeed well with our souls.  Please pray with us that Nico will grow up understanding and believing that:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

The Moores

A few pics for fun:

We always make his plate first, and he NEVER starts without us.  In fact, he pushes it away from himself and either stares at it or stares at us while we finish making our plates :-)

Once we pray and get started, all bets are off.  And we are working on all fingers being off too.

Some poorer children on the side of the road watching the parade of high school children, perhaps wondering if they will have a similar opportunity.

Gotcha Day +4

Eric: "What does a 3.5 year old really need?"

Kyle:  "A stick, and a good dad."

Clint: "God help me with the second part :-)"

 

Woops...  Must have done something wrong cause he used it to lock me out of the house...

 

Nothing a cup full of gold fish can't fix!

 

No hands!

So all of those pics were actually from this morning.  After some fun, I (Clint) headed out for a day trip, plus preaching, at Rashid's church in a remote village.  I've seen some poverty before, but Uganda is different.  There are so, so many people here living off of so, so little.  The problems run deep into culture, politics, you name it...  And the solutions are even more complicated.

But the believers in this church (I'll be sure to take pictures when we go again Sunday) love Jesus, and their hope is in Him.  So, rich or poor, black or white, knowing and trusting in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus brings hope.  It brings hope to those of us that struggle with worshiping our comforts, security, control, and safety from having "enough," and it brings hope to those wondering where the next meal will come from for the 10 children they have in their home.

While I was out with Rashid today, Jo and Nico stayed behind.

Here are some fun pics Jo was able to take.

 Momma taught Nico to "play" dominoes

 

Apparently she taught him to read and write as well.  Whew... got that out of the way.  

Tomorrow... Algebra!

There are approximately 30 million people in Uganda

Roughly 2 million of them are orphans 

(most due to parents dying of AIDS)

We are thankful to God that there is one less tonight :-)

 who's next?