You Snooze...

You LOSE!

We had an UNEXPECTED guest blogger today..."THE CORK!" Since it's 3:21 am in Uganda, and Ann didn't send me an updated post, Corky did! Doesn't look like they are having fun together at all...does it? I think all the stress of the adoption has finally gone to her head!

I'm hoping for an update tomorrow...or else I may have to ask for another entry from our guest blogger.

Friday- November 4th, 2011 -RAIN STORM

Who doesn't want to hear a few more Cork stories?

So when I awoke I could hear a lawn mower running. When I walked outside I noticed one of the workers mowing the lawn in back. I didn't think much of it... Cork didn't sleep much last night at all so after breakfast he was going to try and catch some more sleep. Three hours later Cork came out to talk to me and he was swearing because the grass was still being mowed and he couldn't sleep because of it. There isn't even much grass here, it would take me 30 min. tops to mow it but the man mowing was not going fast and he kept going back and forth despite the fact that the lawn mower got it the first time. This was the first time since I've been here that the grass was mowed but I'm pretty sure the next time it needs to be done Cork will be taking matters into his own hands. It is also the first time I've seen a lawn mower here, I've mostly just witnessed people cutting grass with a machete.

So this afternoon was the afternoon Cork has been practicing and waiting for since his arrival. The weekly craft market was happening and Cork couldn't wait to bargain with the locals. He was awesome at wheeling and dealing, then once he purchased the goods he would give them a tip for dropping their price to "Cork standards". I think he tipped them because I told him that the country is in poverty because of people like him trying to talk them down to nothing:)

Our craft market trip was cut really short because of a downpour. Which also ended up being the highlight for me... Cork borrowed an umbrella from someone to walk my daughter and I to the car through the mud. Then he went back to return the umbrella before making a mad dash to the car. When he came into the car he was soaking wet. His glasses were completely fogged up as were all the windows on the vehicle. Since Cork has so much experience with fogged up windows he decided to show our driver how to take care of the problem... He reaches over and starts playing with the heat. He cranks it up to hot and high and immediately brown dirt shoots out off all the vents so the inside of the fogged up car became a big cloud of dirt. I wish I had a picture of the car from my view in the back seat. Cork and the driver both started coughing and my daughter and I couldn't stop laughing. I don't know how the driver (who was driving when Cork pulled his stunt with the heat) could even see. Needless to say the heat was turned off once the dust cloud cleared and Cork could find the knobs again.

One last story, on our way home from the craft market I asked my driver (Gilbert) to stop at the grocery store with an ATM machine. It was still raining when we got there. Gilbert was worried about me getting wet so he pulled as close as he could to the store. After doing everything I needed to do I made a mad dash through the puddles to the car. I could see and hear a ruckus going on inside the vehicle. When I tried opening the door I realized I was locked out of the car in the rain. Gilbert was practically tackling Cork in the car trying to get the door open for me while Cork was trying to keep it locked so I was drenched. When the door was opened, Gilbert kept apologizing (for Cork's prank) while Cork and my daughter laughed.

I'd appreciate any prayers, good thoughts or wishes you can send my way. I really need to get two pieces of necessary paperwork early next week.

Still missing my boys and enjoying my girl,
AnnMarie

PS I noticed some grammar errors in my last few posts... I can't correct them because I can't post on blogspot from here for some reason. I am also usually writing these posts and e-mailing them out right before bed when I'm tired. My iPad doesn't seem to always write exactly what I'm thinking... Or maybe it's just my fingers:)

Thursday-November 3, 2011

I sent my sister a few pictures to post with this, in one of them you will notice two camels. The closer of the two is the camel that bitCork today. Camel's are not native to Uganda (or at least I don't think they are) but low and behold there was a camel chillin' on the beach at the "zoo". Cork decided to snap a few pictures then he was walked over by us, the camel reached out with it's neck, turned it's head a bit (in slow motion) and grabbed Cork's leg in it's mouth. Seriously one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Cork tried to jump away and gave a little shout but his pant leg was trapped in the camels mouth... Once the camel let go of him I noticed it only had bottom teeth that stuck straight out and looked to need a good cleaning. Cork's skin was never punctured but his pants had a mouth mark and it scared him pretty good. My daughter thought it was as funny as I did.

My daughter is not a fan of animals... When we were out eating last night there was a wild cat that kept coming by our table, she was so afraid of the cat. She would try to hide behind Cork or me and scream "pussy, pussy, pussy...". Clearly her English is improving:). Her screaming "pussy" never once got us any looks, apparently that is totally acceptable here.

There are areas here that have monkeys running around them like we have squirrels running around Wisconsin. My daughter is very frightened of the monkeys, she won't let Cork put her down when she spots one. I'm sure I didn't help her fear today by squatting down to take a picture of a monkey a few feet from me only to be attacked by at least 10 monkeys trying to get into my purse. I jumped up dropping my camera running away from them screaming. Those little monkeys sure know how to gang up on a person.

The last picture I sent Katie is of a man hitching a ride down the road, wearing rollerblades. I have seen this at least 3 times since I've been here. These vehicles are traveling fast (I'd say a good 45 mph) and they are closely followed by other vehicles. The roads here are in pretty bad shape, large potholes everywhere... I just can't imagine this would be a good idea anywhere regardless of the conditions. That's all for tonight from Uganda. I miss my boys and home, AnnMarie

OH WHEN THE SAINTS....

Well, it's November 1st...All Saints Day if you are a Catholic. Looks like they were celebrating it with a BANG in Uganda today! Enjoy...

I can hear the drums a beating, people singing, and dancing. It's like an all out party not too far away. I can't go and check it out tonight as my daughter is sound asleep next to me. I did go check things out on Sunday Night and had a great time. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't afraid to bust a move and shake what my Mama gave me. I was feeling' the rhythm... And so was my daughter... And my husband- LOL. Corky is going to be feelin' it next Sunday, he just doesn't know it yet.

Today was an awesome day. We did a bit of shopping in the morning. My Uncle was testing out his negotiating price skills. He is hoping to have it mastered by the Friday craft market where we are going to spend all of our money. After shopping we went to seeLake Victoria. The lake was big and it was very intriguing to watch the fishermen come to shore with their boats to drop off fish at the local market. Some of the boats had oars that were over 20 feet long... The lake is obviously deep and the hubbub around the "pier" was fun to be a part of.

Afterwards we headed back to our "house" for a relaxing afternoon. Cork and my daughter both took naps while I downloaded pictures. We went out to eat around 5ish, which is quite early in Uganda. The place we ate at had a trampoline! It's too bad my daughter didn't like it as much as I did. We put her on it the tried showing her how it worked, she was terrified. It didn't take much to talk me into getting up and demonstrating how it is done... Which probably terrified her more. Needless to say we will be "practicing" or just standing on the trampoline frequently.

While we were waiting for our food I explained to my Uncle that I had a shower curtain on the shower in my bathroom but it disappeared about 3 days ago. I took a big swig of my drink as he was telling me that I should let him know before I report the shower curtain as missing so he can hide his curtain. This threw me into a fit of laughter, only I had a mouth full of Coke so I could not hold it together. I got up from the table debating if I should spit my drink into the bushes nearby, into the rain gutter or just let it fly out of my nose... Cork and my daughter were both laughing so hard it was nearly impossible for me to concentrate on swallowing. I was able to leave the area with my hands over my face holding the liquid in and pull it together but not before I had everyone's attention in the place.

Shortly after my Coke incident I decided to step into a near by shop to check out the price of something Corky wants to buy. Our food had not yet been delivered to our table so my daughter and Cork were going to stay at the table. When I stood up from my chair I thought it was weird that I never felt the chair slide back... I heard a huge bang behind me and realized I tipped my metal chair over when I stood up. My daughter screams then starts laughing so hard she can't hold it together which sends me and Cork into another fit of laughter. People at the other tables were also laughing because I'm sure my daughters scream scared them just as much as my crashing chair did... I'm blaming Cork for all of this;)

Well off to find my headlamp to frighten the cockroaches off my path to the bathroom. I wonder if my shower curtain will return? Good times, good times...

AnnMarie German

Halloween 2011

I got scolded for not posting this yesterday. I can't figure out how it slipped my mind, considering I didnt' really have anything else going on. Never mind the fact that it was Halloween and my baby boy's Birthday celebration. Sorry for the delay and the double post tonight! I have a feeling now that Cork is in Uganda, the stories will be good!

Nick is leaving Uganda tonight... In fact, I already said my good bye to him. He left for the airport about two hours ago. It was hard to see him go as I would have like for him to stay with me. There is also a part of me that is relieved now that he will soon be home with the boys. They have really been troopers since we left and I appreciate all the help we have had from family and friends. It's time for them to have a parent back so there is some normalcy in their day to day affairs. My Uncle Corky flew in last nigh to spend some time in my daughters birth country and help me wait out some of my stay. I'm sure I would have totally lost it tonight with Nick leaving had my Uncle not come to join me. It's nice to be sharing this experience with someone else. My Uncle Corky is one of my Dad's three brothers (he also has three sisters) and I can honestly say my Grandma and Grandpa did something really right when they raised their kids. All of my Dad's brothers and sisters (and their spouses) would bend over backwards for one another. I hope my own kids turn out like my father and his siblings. My daughter has already takin' quite a liking to my Uncle. She says "Uncle Corky" more then she says any other name. She laughs at his jokes, tries to mimic his tricks, and seems really very smitten with him. I'm certain they will have a special bond when our time in Uganda comes to an end. We had a few things that we had to take care of today. We started by taking our daughter to the doctor this afternoon. The apt. went well and was actually relatively fast. After the appointment we (Nick, Cork, my girl and I) headed over to our girl's former "home" for a good-bye ceremony. We supplied the cakes, sodas and straws for all the kids and staff. The kids sang some songs for us, showed my Uncle around and our daughter got a chance to say her good-byes. She was clearly over tired (as she hadn't had her afternoon nap) and a bit overwhelmed. But I do think it was good for her to see her friends and caregivers again. The cakes we supplied for the party looked AWESOME. The head guy at our guest house had them made for us. I didn't see them until we were at the orphanage because they were boxed up so nicely. When someone pulled one out of the packaging I made the comment to my Uncle that I could totally polish one of the cakes off myself. I can't post a picture because it had my daughters name on it... Sort of (that's an whole different story). It was like awesome, American, weddingish, decorated cake style. After the singing they asked us (Nick and I) to cut the cake with our daughter. They gave us a big sharp knife. Nick sort of took control with our daughter and I kind of faked the cut, by just putting a hand on but not offering much help. As I was watching/taking part in the action I was wondering what Nick was doing because the cake sort of started to wiggle when he put the knife to it. All of a sudden it dawned on my that Nick was actually trying to cut the cake but it was just so hard that the knife wasn't going into the cake. Well that put me into a fit of laughter... When I was able to pull it together I ended up having to saw my way through the rest of the cake. The cake and frosting were so dried out the frosting just peeled/fell right off the cake. (It also was not a chocolate cake like I thought it was, I'm not sure what it was as I never tried it.) It didn't stop the kids from enjoying the cake. At one point there were about 6 kids under the table that the cake was on eating the broken frosting off of the ground... I'm so glad we brought plenty of cake so they can eat it for more than one day. When we left the home we got a chance to stop for some Ugandan coffee. Nick's bags seemed to be well under the 50 lb weight limit so I wanted to get him up to weight by adding some coffee:). I'm hoping to head back to the area where the coffee was, not only did the coffee smell delightful but all the shops around it looked pretty cool. Perhaps a little more Uganda retail therapy is needed... By the time we got back tonight it was time for us to find something to eat and time for Nick to head out. I'm hoping Nick has safe travels back to the kids. And I'm hoping for some sort of miracle to get us all home before December... AnnMarie German

Daughter Details

I hope Ann Marie's daughter has some sort of an idea of what kind of a family she is getting herself into. Her mother is the most mature person I know. She doesn't like to have any fun, and NEVER wants to be the center of attention. Just saying...

***NOTE TO ANN- Next time you email me and ask me WHEN am I going to update your post, and tell me that I'm "slacking" I WILL have mom scan pics from when you were little. Head gear, lip bumper, peeling sun burn, buck teeth, boy hair cut, tall scrawny body, and ALL!

Miles of Smiles from Me to You!

Your OLDEST and FAVORITE SISTER- Katie

From Ann Marie Below-

Even though I can't yet post a picture of my daughter I'd like to share a little bit about her. When we visited our daughter at the orphanage she was a busy girl. She didn't necessarily need to be around the action but she did a good job of keeping herself busy. She sang songs and goofed around with the kids but when she had it, she went in back and started washing clothes, gave the little guy at the "home" a bath, etc. She is silly around her peers but if she has adults around that she doesn't know and the attention turns towards her she completely shuts down. She won't make eye contact, won't talk, etc. Frankly, I can't say I blame her. She has been through a lot in her short life and I'm pretty sure this is how she copes. I'm willing to guess a wedding shower or baby shower thrown in her honor would be her biggest nightmare. Everyday she seems to be coming a little more alive. The shell she has built up breaks down a bit more as she gets to know us and learns to trust us. With that being said I'm pretty sure it will take some time for her to learn to trust us. This girl is the pictures of strength, she is strong willed, and relies on herself more than any 4 year old should... Her life skill set is also much stronger than any 4 year olds should be... Here are a few fun things we have learned about her: When she smiles her eyes light up and if you can get her to giggle or laugh there is no sweeter sound. I'm pretty sure she had never used a western toilet or toilet paper until just a few days ago:) Same with silverware. She is a fast learner and will master new skills very quickly. Her English is limited to counting but just yesterday she started repeating (she doesn't know what she is saying but she will now repeat). She is into jewelry, making it and wearing it (even to bed). She has her ears pierced, we haven't seen earrings in them but we did see straw/grass or sticks (something of the sort) in the holes. She loves going through the clothes we brought her and refolding and organizing it. Every time she puts on a clothing item she jumps up on the bed to check out how she looks in the mirror and sort of poses even if it's just undies she has on. She loves eating roasted grasshoppers. She is shorter than I imagined and rounder. Her belly and body look a bit bloated right now but I'm sure it will go down with time (and perhaps some meds.). When we brought her to the doctor yesterday I thought for sure she weighted more then Geremu and Cullen. Turns out she is quite a bit less, just much puffier (is that a word?) That's all I have time for tonight. I'm really looking forward to having our family together forever. I think having the boys around will help our daughter to break out of her shell even more. Love from the Pearl of Africa, AnnMarie

She's Officially Scared of Me!

Another day, another email from Ann Marie to share. Dang it...just as I was headed into the old photo albums. Don't worry, she won't be able to keep this up for another 5 weeks! (Mom, when you get home can you please take all AMG's old school pics and scan them to me? That in itself could keep us all entertained for 5 weeks!)

We don't have power right now again so I'm going to see if I can remember where I left off yesterday. I think it was after meeting our girl... Last weekend was spent getting to know Uganda and getting to know our girl. We knew she was in a "home" that had strict rules. We just didn't know when we would get custody of her, we were told it could be right before court but it could also be once we had the court ruling.

One thing I have noticed about the Uganda culture is that everyone and I mean everyone is vague. They don't like to be specific at all. The more vague they are with their answers the less accountable they will be held. Since we are guests in their country we will respect their vagueness and not push them too hard... You have no idea just how hard this is for me at times.

Back to my story, we had met with a probation officer (that works in the region our daughter is from) on Friday afternoon right before heading to our daughters "home". He wanted to check us out and ask a few questions before we met our daughter. I can't say I blame him either, I'd certainly want to check someone in our situation out too. Monday morning we were suppose to meet with a different probation officer (this one works in the region that our daughter "home" was). When we got there I could tell there was some sort of a problem. No one would tell us what the problem was, they were as clear as mud and said, there might be a problem. I was so frustrated and mad because I knew we had court the next day and that something was wrong but I didn't know what... We left the office with our friend, driver and two social worker for our daughters home in the car and headed to get to the bottom of the "problem." I later found out what the "problem" was which did end up being nothing but to protect my daughters story I am not going to go into details. I'm just going to pull a vague move here and say it had more to do with miscommunication than anything else.

So after an extremely stressful Monday and very little sleep that night we got up early head back to the probation officers office. Our daughter was delivered to that office on a boda, boda (unsafe motorcycle taxi) and handed to us by the probation officer and that's how we received custody. From his office we quickly headed to the court house for our hearing. After waiting about 2 hours we were called in for our case. Everyone that was suppose to show up did (which might be a miracle in and of itself) and everything seemed to go fine... That is until our judge gave us that date we would get our ruling. After he said Dec. 2nd I'm pretty sure my eyes bulged right out of my head. Our lawyer talked to the judge trying to get it moved but he seemed just fine with it where he had set it. I was told that the courts would be closing in mid November for the holiday season. I was also under the impression that most rulings came about one week after the court date. So to say I was shocked would have been an understatement... I never saw it coming. I held it together until I walked out of the room and found out that the reason it was pushed back was because the judge is going on vacation... That's. When. I. Lost. It... All out, couldn't catch my breath, hiccup sobs- classy.

The best news of the day came when I later learned that earlier when the probation officer handed our daughter over to us it meant that we got to keep her in our care. I was wondering why so many pictures were being snapped... Turns out the "home" couldn't hand over our girl to us, it had to be the probation officer. So as much as I'll miss my boys while I'm away at least I have my girl to get through this with me.

More about my girl tomorrow...