Dodson, Party of 7: influx

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

influx

Got another email today from the second family that arrived last week at Welcome Home. Lori emailed me a sweet little bit of love from my Alan. ;o)

Ohhhhh, Laura! It is so good to hear from you! Your boys are amazing...but you already know that =) Today Alan came to me and said "My mom is coming!" I said, "Yes, your mom is coming soon and she loves you!" He had a big smile and another worker said, "Yes, and your daddy too!" We are so happy that your time is so near.

I know you are in contact with Maria too, but if you have any questions let us know and we will try to be helpful.

Court went well for us this week and Thursday is our ruling. It is encouraging that the process seems to have improved...just in time for you to come =) Peter is an awesome lawyer...you will be in good hands.

We will be praying for you and look forward to hearing all about your own journey in Uganda. Be ready to recieve and give endless hugs and kisses...

Let me say...for the record ;o) ... it makes my heart SING to hear of Alan's eagerness for his Mommy and Daddy to come. He is old enough to be taking all of this in, by that I mean what is going on right now with the two other families getting their children. He is processing all this in his little mind and it's clicking.

They've all been 'reading' their book and now that the other two families are there, the boys are realizing (esp. Alan and Jeremiah--their older) that their turn is next. ;o) I wonder if they think it about us while going to bed at night? Obviously, Alan is...and Daniel. I'm sure Jeremiah is, too.

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We (Jeff) spoke for a few minutes during church, we hand out pics and a letter telling the church what we needed.Jeff did such a good job. I am so thankful I have been given such an excellent hubby. I love him so.

A few families have given funds which just blesses up tremendously. We now need $7100. I haven't changed the thermometer cuz it's a pain in the neck. However, I think I'll change it by Friday when all the $$ is in the bank.

Still no word from immigration, but I'm sure it's coming... ;o)

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God's Faithfulness Revealed

We began the Homestudy paperwork a little after Thanksgiving, for the sake of a date line, I'll say December 1, 08. We have prayed about and committed to Jeremiah, and Daniel.

1. December 12, 2008 --EKG result delivered from Houston just in the nick of time so my Doc could finish up the report on my health.

2. December 21, 2008 --Funds proivded for Homestudy.

3. December 30, 2008--Homestudy Fee lowered by $200.

4. January 1, 2009--Homestudy fees paid in full.

5. January 2, 2009--Verbal approval of homestudy! :o)

6. January 7, 2009--$5000 given by SGBC, our former church

7. January 8, 2009--Speedy Delivery: Jeff's birth certificate-IT'S HERE! Just signed...2pm.

8. January 8, 2009--Speedy Delivery: My "State of Health" letter from Dr. Sheridan in Houston.

9. January 14, 2009--A sweet love offering from the 5th grade class at LCS. :o) Makes my heart go pitterpat.

10. January 20,2009-Jeff's passport arrives in record time! Wow, in the blink of an eye is more like it.

11. February 2, 2009-My adoption decree documents came via email ready to sign, send back, and wait for the judge to change! YAY!

12. February 9, 2009-Changes ready to file!

13. February 10, 2009-The Lord provided $21,ooo for the boys today. !!! I was laughing. I was crying. I was generally overwhelmed by His goodness. :o)

14. February 25, 2009-Paperwork DONE and DELIVERED from lawyer.

14a. February 25ish, 2009--Another little someone found his way into our hearts. Our sweet boy, Alan. I will be a Mom to 5 sons. My cup runneth over.

15. March 1, 2009- More donations roll in. Thank you Lord!

16. March 3, 2009-NEW and IMPROVED birth certificate finished. Woohoo!

17. March 23, 2oo9--WOW, it took 20 days to get our homestudy correct. Today, the 3rd one was delivered! Perfect.

18. March 23, 2009--Mailed both our i600a apps and our HUGE dossier. Godspeed papers.

19. March 24, 2009--Dossier arrived in CA. i600a forms arrived at immigration (they even called)!

20.April 4, 2009--Receipt arrived from Homeland Security! Fingerprint appt. on it's way!

21. April 11, 2009--FINGERPRINTED.

22. I stopped posting here and lost track.

23. Late April--Approved!

24. May 29, 2009--Leave for London.

25. June 1, 2009--Arrive in Entebbe. Drive to Kampala. Meet Peter, our lawyer. Drive to Jinja, unpack, meet boys.

26. June 4, 2009 -- Court Date. It's a yes!

27. June -- Rulings, passports, Embassy

28. July 1, 2009 -- Problems at the Embassy, reschedule flights, try to get visas to no avail.

29. July 2, 2009 -- Leave Uganda without boys. Say our goodbyes in the Garden City parking lot. Cry on the phone to a friend for 45 minutes. Go to Entebbe.

30. July 3, 2009 -- Depart for London

31. July 4, 2009 -- Alan's 5th bday, call him in London. Arrive home. Dead. Hug Joshua and Caleb. Cry some more. Go see fireworks in a zombie like trance.

32. July -- Spent calling Senators, praying and waiting.

33. July 29, 2009 -- USCIS Nairobi gives us their approval for travel visas. Had we known it would have been less than a month, we'd have stayed in Uganda. We were told we may never get visas, so that is why we went home to wait. It would have been FAR cheaper to stay.

34. September 11, 2009 -- Silver lining. Our older boys were able to travel with us! This was truly a blessing. I was not sure I could endure another trip to Africa without them. I was super homesick for our big boys.

35. September 14, 2009 -- Get possessions of our visas by the hair on our chinny chin chins. Spend a wonderful week in Jinja with all 5 boys at Ebenezer Guest House, visiting friends, hanging out. It was a lovley time.

36. September 23-24, 2009 -- Head home and are now living life as The Dodson 7.