Sunday 20 March 2011

Sunday 27 February 2011

We went to Birmingham last week to reapply for N's visa. Things are looking up! If he is granted the visa Nathanial will be able to stay here for upto 3 years, or they might just give him indefinate leave to remain, which means we could stay as long as we like! In either case a short-term return to Uganda seems possible in order to complete adoption procedures over there then return to UK.

Whatever happens I Thank you Lord that it is all in Your hands!!!

Thursday 17 February 2011

adoption update

For those of you who know what is going on with the continual pursuit of Nathanial's adoption, well I got a phone call from the Home Office.

To make a long story short we were going to return to Uganda end of April 2010 to live so that I could pursue his adoption there, however middle of April Nathanial was rushed to hospital with organ failure. He was on hospital 3 weeks. So that delayed our return. I applied for leave to remain as his current visa had ran out, in the meantime he is able to legally remain in the UK. So that was in April 2010. So it is now February 2011, I got a phonecall saying that I was to fill out a new form and pay extra money since the application fees for his visa had gone up! I was none to impressed with this, and made that quite clear - why should I have to pay extra when I started this 10months ago?! Anyway, I don't qualify for a waiver in fees! So we really aren't moving forward at the moment in regards to Nathanial's adoption.

However, we can stay here until we hear back from the border agency.

I trust that all this will work out according to God's will and in his timing. I take comfort in that and I can find peace in that! I know that adopting Nathanial, is God's will for me and for Nathanial, so of course He will see us through that process no matter how long it takes and no matter how many hiccups we have along the way!

Thank you God!

Sunday 13 February 2011

Egypt

Egypt is a country I hold dear to my heart, I have travelled there many times and I enjoyed every visit immensly. I also hold Arabs very dear to my heart and pray that they would see Jesus the way we Christians see Him and that they would receive Him as their personal saviour.

I was so pleased to hear about the latest developments in the news and hope that a better future would be forged for them. I have seen the poverty in Cairo first hand and it is shocking to say the least.

I will continue to pray for Egypt that the people would elect a leader who cares about them and not his own personal gain. That the leader of Egypt would be fair and just. That he will do all in his power to minimise poverty and to give Egyptains a positive future.
I pray that God would touch this nation and that He would shine His light on its people.

Here is a headline I heard today: "9 years in Afghanistan, 7 years in Iraq and we are still there trying to bring about "democracy" ... guess what, 2 and 1/2 weeks of protests in Egypt changed history. War is no solution. Congrats Egypt."

Saturday 12 February 2011

As you may know Nathanial had cataract surgery in his left eye back in August. Before the operation his vision in his left eye was minimal, if he put his hand right up to his face he couldn't see it, so lets say that the vision in his left eye was not useful. However the vision in his right eye was perfect. We went back to the opthalmologist in November for check ups and to determine what his vision was post-op. The Dr was astounded how much his vision had improved! He will be able to drive however being a pilot for the airforce is off limits (which isn't necessarily a bad thing in this mother's heart!!).
Nathanial has been coming home a lot upset and distraught because the older boys and girls have been teasing him about his patch. This really upsets me as a mother, to know that my child is being ridiculed, teased and bullied. Nathanial is the sweetest boy, and would never seek out someone to hurt them or cause them upset. So, for him to come home very nurt about this upsets me.
After our most recent trip to the hospital for a check up, there was no improvement in his vision! He has been taking his patch off at school and hiding it and has broken his glasses, accidentally on purpose (!!!) a few times because of the way other children are treating him at school. I know how cruel children can be, and it's up to us to teach our children how they are going to react to that and what Jesus would want them to do. Nathanial knows that the best thing to do is to walk away and to report to an adult what is going on. Easier said than done! But he is being very brave and thanks to the new monkey patch he got from the hospital he is more than eager to wear his patch!
The latest report from the Dr suggests that although there has been no improvement as of late, there is still time for his eye to improve. He will need surgery in a few years to correct the squint. He will also never have binocular vision (where both eyes work together). Should a cataract occur in the right eye however - his left eye will still be functional.

I believe in a God of miracles though and he can give Nathanial monocular vision. I will continue to pray for that miracle. I will continue to pray for Nathanial's heart and that he would learn to react to the teasing in a way that pleases God and we will continue to pray for them that cause us pain and hurt.


Aren't these patches fun?!
Well, it has been a long time since I last posted. Partly because I have been so busy working, and partly because I don't think that anyone reads my blog! Although, I really want to do it, so that Nathanial can look back on it and see what he got upto growing up!
We had a good Christmas. We didn't stay with the family as long as we usually do , but the time we did spend was enjoyable. We had a lot of snow before Christmas and Nathanial loved going on the sled for the first time and getting to ride it to school!
I have started working at a place called RNIB college. It is such a blessing to have a job that fits around Nathanial's school hours. So I get to drop him off at school everday, and most days I can pick him up from school, if I can't then I pick him up from the childminders. Nathanial really enjoys school, and is thriving there. He is very popular and sociable with the kids in his year and with the older kids.
Here are some photos from Christmas:

I bought Nathanial a toy kitchen for Christmas. He is absolutely obsessed with food (more on that later), but I was advised by someone who works with foster and adopted kids, that this would be the ideal present for him!

His Christmas bike! Which is a bit too big for him at the moment!
Beautiful Wales! (and beautiful Nathanial!)

Friday 5 November 2010

1 year ago!


It was one year ago today that we arrived in the UK for what was supposed to be a short visit. However, things turned out differently due to N's illness (thank God we were here when it happened!). Now, we just wait and see if they will allow me to adopt Nathanial here. It has been a great year of firsts for Nathanial and precious memories. Let's pray that we have many more years here to come! :D