MATCH DAY!

So.... June 23rd officially became Match Day for the Smith family!! Unfortunately, Ugandan law prohibits me from posting pictures of our son. He is almost 18 months old and is the cutest thing. If you see me in person, I have plenty of pictures to share. We are in the process of applying for a court date. The courts are closed from July 15th to August 15th, so we are anticipating a travel date in late August. It can't get here fast enough. The wait for a referral is exhausting but I agree with everyone that the wait is worse when you have a little face staring at you in photos waiting for you to bring him home.

We will be getting a package together for the baby home in the next few days so that we can send some special gifts to him and other much needed items for the other children. Today, we exposed our self to the "Build a Bear" experience... that place is crazy. I couldn't imagine how an establishment could stay open selling $50 teddy bears, but apparently parents bring their children on a regular basis (per the store salesperson). They come for the special/limited edition bears, new clothing and accessories. It's a minefield considering our practical $14 bunny turned into $50 by the time I had him clothed and got him a cute little passport. I'm sure we also looked pretty hilarious in the corner trying to record our personalized message over and over. We felt incredibly uncomfortable talking into the tiny recorder. I kept saying "I really sound like that?" By the time we left, I was already imagining how long till I can bring my son back and help him pick out another bear with his specifications...I think they put something in the air in that place....I'm sure he will not ask me to record my voice in the next one. :)

Adopted for Life

Last weekend, we had the amazing opportunity to attend an adoption conference that featured Dr. Russell Moore as the keynote speaker. If you don't already know, Dr. Moore is an important influence in the Christian adoption community. He wrote Adopted for Life which is a theology of adoption and he is also the Dean of Theology at Southern Seminary. When we made the decision to adopt, his book formed the groundwork for our own adoption theology. Many adoption books we came across were more "how to" than "why." This book has changed our lives and our hearts. We have given this book as a gift to our families and friends which we hope spurs the commitment to adoption and orphan care in our communities. As embarrassing as it might have felt, we found an opportunity to talk with Dr. Moore about the impact of his book in our lives. We also had to get a picture! I just bought a lifebook for Baby Smith and it has a page to place pictures of "People Who Helped Bring Us to You" and like it or not... Dr. Moore, you are going in the lifebook!!