Great Memorial Day!!

Memorial Day has a new meaning for Steve and I. We are writing this at 2:00am. The kids went to bed around 8:30 and we were both so exhausted we posted the last one and couldn't do anymore. We went right to sleep. It is 7:00pm your time so I am not sure why we have both woken up so early.
  Edith and Erik are wonderful. Our reunion with them was great. Edith came right to me as Erik stands back and watches everything. He went to Steve and they have been inseparable. He is very quiet and reserved and Edith is definitely going to be the mischievous one. Guess there is no question as to why they "picked their parent" to stick with yesterday. We asked Edith if she wanted to come to America and live with us and she said she would. We also asked her if we could be her Mommy and Daddy and she said yes.  Erik pretty much didn't leave Steve's side and fell asleep in his arms in the car.
    After we returned to the house we did see a side of Erik that was really sweet and fun. He came alive when we gave him a ball. It gave Steve and I very vivid memories of Josh when he was young, He giggled as we played I am "gonna get you" and even ran into my arms to hide from Steve. All the while Edith is playing along but is wearing my sunglasses and being in charge.
    We watched them at dinner tonight and were amazed, saddened and very aware of the life that they had been living. They both became very quiet and  EVERY morsel on their plate was consumed. Their dinner included fish, rice, slaw and milk. Little Erik ( who by the way is tiny) worked very hard with his spoon and maneuvered his food to the center where he could get a bigger spoonful.  They didn't ask or question what was on their plate and ate every last bit. Our helper at the house, Olive, said that is how they were trained since they were never assured but one meal a day they had to make sure to eat it all. It made us stop and think about all the ways their lives would change.
  Bath was next and they loved it. Their little brown fannies are too cute. They were not afraid of the water and got right in and submersed their whole bodies. It was so nice to get them clean and in their soft pajamas. They both laughed at one another when they got dressed so I am not sure they have had them before. Erik is wearing a pull up as I learned real quickly tonight when he watered my leg and shoe before bath that he will need a little potty training. They are sleeping together and I saw Edith cover Erik up before they went to sleep. She is used to taking care of him and mothers him quite well.
 We learned several things today about our new children. Erik rubs his hands together when he is thinking about something and Edith loves to be touched.
 We will try to send pictures when we can. Our court date has been moved to Thursday at 10:00 am. We do not know why but are feeling ok about that. It will give us lots of time to bond with the kids.
 I just looked over at them and they are huddled next to one another. AHHH,,, how cute they look when they are sleeping.

Good Morning Monday!!

   I am witnessing God's glory at its fullest..It is Monday in Africa and today is the day we get to see and meet our childen. God said good morning to us in a special way. I have seen a sunrise like no other.
   Where the earths horizon line is black it is meeting with the most magnificent colors. The colors begin with black, dark red, orange, pink, light yellow, light green ( like a Caribbean ocean) and then it moves to aqua and a dark Duke blue sky. (That is for you Papa and Jim). In addition to that the moon is brilliantly shining above it. It looks just like the colors in a rainbow. It is amazing to me that my friends are going to bed and we are waking up on this part of the world....well that was just for poetic justice...we haven't actually slept at least not very much.
  Our travel since Friday has been interesting to say the least. Everything that shouldn't have happened did, everything that could have happened did and anything we couldn't have imagined would happen, surprised us when it did.
  We have laughed a lot to keep from sobbing and I was ready to share some of it but much like childbirth I have forgotten the pain. Steve and I are rejuvenated and so excited to be here in Africa. We still have one more flight but we are closet than we have ever been.

Are we there yet????? NO!

Greetings to all the friends and family of Debbie and Steve Shough! I have hijacked Debbie's blog in order to keep you informed of their trip while they are not able to update postings.

It is currently Sunday evening, a little after 11pm, US time.  However, it is Monday, 7am in Uganda.  Steve and Debbie have not yet reached Uganda as expected.  They have encountered MANY unexpected cancellations and delays in their travel.  They are currently in route from London to Nairobi, Kenya and are expected to arrive in Uganda on Monday morning at 9:20am, Ugandan time (2am Monday morning, US time). 

Given the delays and cancellations, they are missing their scheduled appointment with their Ugandan attorney (scheduled for Monday morning at 8am) and are much later in getting Edith and Erik.  They were hoping and planning to have the children Sunday night in order to spend time with them and become acquainted with one another before having to go before the Ugandan judge on Tuesday morning at 8am. The important thing is that it appears they will arrive in Uganda for their scheduled court date!!!  I must share with you that this has been a tremendous concern and if there had been any other delays or cancellations, this would have not been possible...meaning they would have most likely had to returned home to wait on another scheduled court date!  Our God is good and faithful!---and for that, we are most grateful!

What was to be a 46 hour rigorous travel itinerary has turned into about 96 hour marathon!  We all know Debbie's up for marathons but I'm not sure she trained for this one! Needless to say, she and Steve are physically and emotionally exhausted!  It has been a tremendously stressful adventure but they have been troopers, maintaining an amazingly positive attitude!  However, please pray God will maximize their rest and restore their stamina as they hit the ground in Uganda, "running"!! 

"The vision will still happen at the appointed time.  It hurries toward its goal.  It won't be a lie.  If it's delayed, wait for it.  It will certainly happen.  It won't be late." -Habakkuk 2:3-

While often we do not understand delays, God's timing is always perfect!  Thank you for your love and support for them!

Blessings,
Sarah Ledford


I'm sure Steve will kill me for this....HA!

Still in North Carolina-yikes

Good evening friends-Steve and I are still in Charlotte. Our flight was cancelled after sitting on the runway for 3 hours. We started this morning at 10:00 am in the Charlotte airport and we are still here. So tomorrow will be like the movie Groundhog day. We do it all over again. Basically we have the same flight pattern it will just move us back a day. We won't arrive until Monday morning. Our court date it Tuesday so please pray for no delays tomorrow as we are now pushing it to the wire. God is teaching us both patience. And I am sure we will need a lot of those. Steve remained patient while sitting on the plane. (He asked me to let you know this) Good night and see you tomorrow!!

Packed and ready to go!

Steve and I leave in the morning and head to the airport. We have a 48 hour travel schedule thanks to last minute flight reservations. We will arrive in Uganda Sunday morning at 9:00am ( 2:00am USA) We will be able to pick the kids up that afternoon. I will try to blog after we have had an opportunity to spend some time with them. Hopefully the internet connection there will allow me to send you some pictures. We can not thank you enough for all your prayers, support and encouraging emails. It makes this journey so much easier. Love to you all- debbie

"Getting Up To Speed"...

For all of our friends and family who are thinking we've lost our minds,
 please read the first article (Part 1) in Forsyth Woman's magazine at the link below. The article was published in the March edition and begins on page 54. (The page number on the counter is not accurate. Go by the number on the physical page of the magazine.) This will help you understand how we arrived at the decision to adopt.

To return to the blog after viewing the link, please use the back arrow. Please be patient as the link may take 2 or 3 minutes to load.

Click here for Forsyth Woman magazine

Part 2 of the article was published in the May edition of Forsyth Family magazine.  It begins on page 20. (The page number on the counter is not accurate.  Go by the number on the physical page of the magazine.)

To return to the blog after viewing the link, please use the back arrow. Please be patient as the link may take 2 or 3 minutes to load.

Click here for Forsyth Family magazine

Thank you for visiting our blog!  Please visit again soon.

The day God brought the "mzungu" (white person)...

Written by Sarah Ledford

Hello!  My name is Edith and I'm from Uganda, East Africa.  I am 4 years old and my dream is to be an "American Princess".  I'm telling this story as it was told to me by my adoptive mommy's friend.

My adoptive mommy first came to Uganda in December of 2010.  She came with a small group of mzungus (white people) to visit my orphanage, "Airfield".   I remember the day she stepped through the gate at the orphanage...she motioned for me to come sit with her.  I slowly made my way to her where she was sitting on a sidewalk just outside one of our classrooms.

I melted down in her lap as her welcomed embraced enveloped my entire body.  I couldn't remember ever feeling such love.  I had never met this mzungu before but knew I didn't want to live another day without her.  She sat, gently swaying back and forth, my hands meshed into hers. Her quiet whispers, gentle strokes and winning smile stole my heart.  If my mom were writing this story she would probably say, I stole hers!

We spent many hours with each other as the group of mzungus played with the other children.  However, I noticed the visitors began gathering their belongings and walking towards the gate.  My heart began to race  as I realized the mzungu who had showed me such love and attention, would be leaving with her group.  In  recognizing what was about to take place I felt myself pull away.  Just moments before, I couldn't take my eyes off her...and now I couldn't bear the thought of lifting my head to her.  My heart already ached from the void of her presence, yet I hadn't even left the warmth of her embrace. As my newly found friend was leaving, I sensed her heart was feeling a similar pain, as tears rolled down her cheeks.  My mzungu friend turned to speak with me one last time before she left.  I didn't understand all she tried to communicate but the words my heart clung to were, "I'll be back tomorrow."....

“Tomorrow” came…and I was able to spend many more hours with this mzungu angel.  By the time she left Uganda, we had both fallen in love with one-another. I was left only to dream of a life in America; to dream of a mommy who could pour her love into my soul, which seemed as thirsty as the African soil.

After the mzungu returned to the US she couldn’t stop thinking of me.  She missed me tremendously…and I longed for her arms which had tenderly cradled me. 

(From this point on, the mzungu and her husband will be referred to as “mommy” and”daddy”.)

Mommy returned home from Uganda just 2 weeks before Christmas.  She spent her days looking through  pictures and videos, introducing me to daddy.  She even printed my pictures and placed them all over the house. I think she must have been trying to imagine my presence there in her home.  My daddy grew to love me through the love in which my mommy spoke of me.  She asked daddy if they could adopt me, and on Christmas day my daddy said “yes!”!

While in the process of doing paperwork for my adoption, mommy and daddy learned I had a little brother, “Erik”.  Erik is 2 years old.  Mommy and daddy couldn’t bare the thought of leaving my little brother in Uganda, so not only did they decide to adopt me, but they decided to adopt Erik too!!  Erik and I had been separated for a year.  He’s been with my biological mom and I’ve been at the orphanage. My biological mom couldn’t afford to care for all of us.

Mommy and daddy decided it would be a good idea for Erik and I to be together during our wait for them, so we both went to stay with a man named, “Abby”.  He is our friend and he promised to take good care of us until mommy and daddy could finish our adoption paperwork to bring us to America.

…so now, we wait…we wait…and we wait…