almost done.....

Yesterday I picked up a packet of very valuable papers.  In this packet was our home study, as well as some other needed documents.  So that means that our dossier is done! Well, except for the I-171H but it is now in the mail. This is such a huge accomplishment. So many hours go into the stacks of paper....
Now we will wait for our fingerprinting appointment and approval that will follow then off to Uganda the stacks of paper will go.....  

Uganda & the Super Bowl

I love seeing how bits of our children's country make it to us.  Whether it be through our friends, media, sports, or universities,  I think it is important to celebrate their home countries and how people have overcome difficulties and become successful for themselves.

This was borrowed and edited (by me) from the NY Times.  I was watching the pre Super Bowl coverage and learned about Mathia Kiwanuka.  He is Ugandan (even though he was born in the US).  His grandfather was the FIRST Prime Minister of Uganda once they claimed freedom from Great Britain in the early 1960's.  That's pretty cool...  And just to be fair, I did google to see if any Rwandans had ties to either team but alas they did not....

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mathias Kiwanuka says he does not remember how old he was when he first found out his grandfather had been assassinated. He struggles to remember the point at which he realized the true meaning of his own last name. He is not certain when he became aware of his family’s importance in African history.

But that is not important, Kiwanuka said recently, because he knows now. He read about his grandfather Benedicto Kiwanuka’s becoming the first prime minister of Uganda and heard about the plight forced upon a man trying to mold freedom out of a society stiffened by chaos. He learned about the pain and suffering Benedicto saw and felt.

And so he knows, too, about Benedicto’s being killed by the despot Idi Amin, a death foretold by some, dreaded by many and seen by experts as a development that set back progress in East Africa for years.

This week, as the Giants prepare to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, Mathias Kiwanuka will be the subject of countless articles and interviews. The reason is obvious: This is his return home. Kiwanuka, now a linebacker for the Giants, was born in Indianapolis. He went to Cathedral High School, a little more than 10 miles from Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be played Sunday. He won two state championships.

But Kiwanuka also knows that there is something greater than a birthplace, something more meaningful than the city where a boy learns to read and write and block and tackle. Indianapolis may be his hometown, Kiwanuka said, but Uganda will always be his homeland.

That is why, one day last week after Kiwanuka had answered a barrage of questions about the old days in Indianapolis, he stopped for a moment by a doorway to the Giants’ training center and considered how much being Ugandan could possibly resonate with a kid who grew up in Indiana.  “How much does Uganda mean to me?” he said, his eyes wide. “It means everything.”

Painful Memories

When he was little, Kiwanuka’s parents would talk generally about Benedicto. It was sterile and nonspecific; a young Mathias could glean few details about his father’s father. “They would say, ‘He was a great man’ and ‘He fought hard,’ ” Kiwanuka recalled. “They would leave it at that.”

Kiwanuka did not press; it was only when he was older that Kiwanuka realized the glossing over was not only intended to spare him from gory details, but also to spare his parents the pain of reliving the experiences of the land they had left behind.

His father, Emmanuel, a political activist, and his mother, Deodata, a nurse, fled Uganda when the country was under Amin’s tyranny. They married in the United States and had three children: Ben, Mary and Mathias, who was born in 1983, 11 years after his grandfather was murdered. 

Kiwanuka remembers seeing pictures of his grandfather — “The man in the dress uniform,” he said — but did not fully understand the meaning of Benedicto’s life until he read about him in middle school.  Only then did he realize that his grandfather had been an officer in the Ugandan army during World War II. Or that Benedicto studied law in Britain before becoming a lawyer in Uganda in the late 1950s. Or that after Uganda won internal self-government from Britain in 1962, he became the country’s first prime minister, a voice shouting for democracy. “It was this devotion that led to his death,” Kimenyi said in a telephone interview.  Benedicto was murdered on Sept. 22, 1972, and Kimenyi recalled that he was in high school in Kenya at the time. “The whole school was shocked — people were talking about it,” he said. “Even now, Benedicto is a household name in East Africa. He is, without a doubt, one of the most important people in Ugandan history. He stood for a united Uganda. We don’t know what would have happened if not for him. And we don’t know what might have happened if he had lived a full life.”

An Inspiring Trip

Two years ago, Kiwanuka traveled to Uganda during the N.F.L. off-season. He was joined by some family members and a former teammate, linebacker Kawika Mitchell. Kiwanuka wanted to use his fame and money to help. His goal, he told Mitchell, was to bring clean, running water to a school in the village where his mother’s family lived.

Mitchell recalled arriving at the school and being stunned. Many of the buildings seemed to be fashioned out of clay, he said, and in one corner of a classroom was a stream of termites eating their way through the floorboards.

The children, though, flocked to Mitchell and Kiwanuka. They did not know about the N.F.L., did not know about where these men had come from. “They just knew we were trying to help them,” Mitchell said in a telephone interview.  

But Mitchell said he and Kiwanuka had already spoken about another trip to Africa — “sooner than later,” they told each other — and for someone with a lineage like Kiwanuka’s, it will be a journey full of meaning. It will be more than a return to a hometown; it will be a return to a homeland.

As many of you know, international adoption is not a inexpensive venture.  We are hoping to fundraise some of the costs like we did last time.   This go around we have another t-shirt!  I love seeing our "What's your story" shirt still on people (2 years later....)  Will you consider helping us by purchasing one, two, or three?

The shirt is basic Hanes t-shirt and runs true to size.  We have kids sizes (XS/2-4, S/6-8, M/10-12, L12-14) and adult sizes X-Small up to 3XL. The colors are Stonewashed Blue and Sangria Pink.  The ink on the blue is brown and the ink on the pink is black.  

If you have been a reader of the blog, you know our admiration for Katie Davis.  She is a true inspiration to us and Kaylee wants to be here when she grows up!  We would love that.... The (short) story about the quote.  Katie Davis (http://amazima.org/) went to Uganda on a short mission trip. She returned after she graduated high school and now lives there with her 13 adopted daughters.  She runs a medical and feeding ministry to hundreds of people every week. She is 22 years old.  Katie is such a true testament to following God's call on your life.

Please leave a comment OR email me at ashleysmith3102 at gmail dot com if you would like to order a shirt.  Let me know the sizes and colors you would like.  We can do a paypal payment or you can send me payment. Whatever is easiest! Thanks so much in advance!

and it begins again.....

Well, not really but kind of.  Over the last year, we have tried to adopt domestically on 2 different fronts but that hasn't worked out as we would have hoped.  God has a reason for everything right......

So after much prayer and consideration, we are starting another international adoption.  Back to Africa!  We have decided to adopt from Uganda.  Uganda borders Rwanda on the northern side.  We are familiar with Uganda as we support Katie Davis (www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com).  She has an amazing ministry there and has painted such a picture through her blog and book.  There are over 2 million orphans in this small country with 1 million being orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.  We have been there before too! Technically anyway.... when we went to get Grace our flight from Ethiopia landed in Uganda and we all stepped out to get some fresh air.  So the tarmac has felt our presence anyway!

We are so excited for this next journey into adoption.  We are trying to be faithful and obedient.  We would have never thought we would have ended up here.... love to see how God works things out.

Where we are in our process.....
We are just about to finish up with our homestudy and our dossier is just about complete. A couple of things that were mailed off for the homestudy are also needed for the dossier.  The paperwork is easier this time around because I know what I am doing!  I like the paperchase... it gives me a sense of accomplishment in a world where you can't control much.

Stay tuned for more about Uganda and our decision!

pictorial ode to a boy

Cannon turns 8 today.... I sure didn't know what to do with "a boy." Still don't! Wow, has he kept life fun!  A few of my favorites...

modeling his new "man robe", 7 years old

football player, 7 years old

 his lips were cold, 5 years old

cake, 2 years old 

you can just see the orneriness, 5 years old 

at the beach, 5 years old 

do I have something in my teeth? 4 years old

always sweet when sleeping, 5 years old 

showing his muscles, 4 years old 

no teeth, 7 years old 

pure boy, 5 years old 

self portrait,  years old 

sweetness, 3 weeks old 

handsome, 2 years old 

baby love, 9 months old

nice hat, 5 years old

loves his ties, 6 years old

M O M

Grace is a big Pre-K girl this school year. She is 4 1/2 years old and is working hard on learning her ABC's and her 123's.  She can write her name but that is really the only word in her writing vocabulary.  Every day she practices writing letters. Every day she works to hold that pencil just right and connect the lines just right.  

Yesterday she gave me a piece of paper.  She said "I made that for you."  I told her thanks and put it in the passenger car seat.  Sweet Grace brings home lots of papers every day and I usually put them all in a pile then look through them at a later time.  When I was cleaning out the car, I was going through the papers and I saw this.... M O M.  Wow.  I put it carefully in the front seat.  

Later when we were back in the car, she saw the piece of paper she had so carefully written MOM on.  She picked it up and again said "I made that for you. I want you to keep it forever."  Again, wow.  Our little girl has come so far.  I am so proud of the effort she puts into learning. It may not come easy to her to sit and write. To know her letters and her numbers sometimes is a struggle.  But oh how I will treasure this piece of paper and the first time she wrote MOM.

I am not an avid reader.  I never have been.  The only way I really LOVE reading is if I get pulled into a great book.  This happens maybe a couple of times a year and that is only because someone else has told me what a good book it was.  The kids and I were talking this and my reading choices in elementary school. They were shocked and appalled when I told them my frequent reading choice was the Garfield comic strip book or Calvin & Hobbes.  I do want to come my defense and say that I am a good reader, I just may not enjoy it (I know gasp...).   I am so thankful for the kid's teachers who have helped them to develop their love of reading.  No comic strip books for them!

I am reading a great book now, "Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption." I have been trying to start it since Thanksgiving but today I got sucked in....  Our family is very familiar with Katie. We read her blog and support her monthly.  Kaylee wants to be like Katie when she grows up. Kay even dressed up as Katie for Halloween this year!   Katie's devotion to doing God's will is inspiring to us and we hope to be as open as she is.

Today I came to a part that particularly has to do with adoption.  The following is a passage that really hit me in the face. I have had some of these thoughts before and she sums it all up so well...

Adoption is wonderful and beautiful and the greatest blessing I have ever experienced.  Adoption is also difficult and painful. Adoption is a beautiful picture of redemption.  It is the Gospel in my living room. And sometimes, it's just hard.


As a parent, it's hard not to know when your daughter took her first steps or what her first word was or what she looked like in kindergarten.  It's hard not to know where she slept and whose shoulder she cried on and what the scar on her eyebrow is from. It's hard to know that for ten years yours was not the shoulder she cried on and you were not the mommy she hugged.


As a child, it's hard to remember your biological parents' death, no matter how much you love your new mom.  It's hard to have your mom be a different color than you because inevitably people are going to ask why. It's hard that your mom wasn't there for all the times you had no dinner and all the times you were sick and all the times you needed help with your homework.  It's hard when you have to make up your birthday. It's hard when you can't understand the concept of being a family forever yet, because your first family wasn't forever.


Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that happens in this broken world. And every single day, it is worth it, because adoption is God's heart....


My family adopting these children, it is not optional. It is not my good deed for the day; it is not what I am doing to "help out these poor kids."  I adopt because God commands me to care for the orphans and the widows in their distress. I adopt because Jesus says that to whom much has been given, much will be demanded (Luke 12:48) and because whoever finds his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for His sake will find it (Matthew 10:39).