TheHappyNeills

New Blog Reminder

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:25:00 +0000

If you're still subscribed to this blog, we have moved to Awaka in Oz.

Please update your subscriptions to our new Wordpress blog: www.awakainoz.com.

Thanks!!!

NEW BLOG SITE!

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:02:00 +0000

This blog has moved over to www.awakainoz.com.

Please update your subscriptions--thanks!!!

Site is under construction a bit still, but it's to the point where it's shareable!

I am excited about the fresh, clean look and wordpress platform.

What's the Hold-Up?

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:19:00 +0000

A lot of people are asking me that lately, in regards to our current adoption. I cannot go into details publicly, but in the end, the wait is for the best. Yes the wait in adoption is hard, and even harder for the children who just wait longer and longer without a family. We would love your prayers for all the "hard". But in the end, the things we are waiting for are necessary and for the best. We try to cling to that during this time.

Amidst the uncertainties and the waiting, we really need your continued prayers. Most importantly pray for Pearl and Spunky while they continue to wait without a family. It is ALL "uphill" until the moment you land on US soil on the plane. It is hard to know how to live in both of these realms at the same time--the one realm where we are living with 3 awesome kiddos and experiencing joy and growth, especially in light of the addition of Duncan to our family. . . and the other realm filled with heartache, longing, uncertainty, desperate prayers. . . Every day is bittersweet. I admit I don't know how to be fully 100% present "here". . . I'm sure a lot of you other adoptive parents can relate to that feeling of just trying to keep your head above water. Any words of wisdom on that? Just trying to hold onto God's promise that during the HARD, He promises to be WITH US. He doesn't promise an easy road--this life is not meant to be easy. It WILL be hard. He promises us HIMSELF.

And we cling to the promise that HE is "Father to the fatherless" and He is ever-present in those precious little lives.

Prayers appreciated for all the loose ends of our case to come together (slow and steady to ensure an ethical adoption). . . for truth to reign where falsehoods have been spread. . . also for Ugandan adoptions as a whole--for the other children who truly need adoptive families to be able to have them whether they are local or international families. . . for children who have opportunities to be reunited with a relative who would care for them to have that opportunity. . . You can get a good idea of issues and such that need support and prayers by going to A Child's Voice (you can also like them on Facebook)-a new organization working toward the betterment of the children and adoptions in Uganda. (If you are a prospective adoptive parent with any interest in Ugandan adoption, I think it is a must-read!)

ONE YEAR

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Tue, 08 May 2012 02:23:00 +0000

On May 7, 2012, the orphanage allowed us to take Duncan. It's been ONE YEAR since that indescribable day. We are enjoying remembering all the milestones from last May.

May 6 - Met our boy!
May 7 - Baguma is with us full time.
May 8 - Mother's Day. Said Mommy and Daddy for the first time. Video here.
May 17 - Court. Uganda granted us a son.
May 30 - HOME and now a family of FIVE.

I wasn't sure what day to celebrate as our BIG DAY every year. Rick said we'll do May 7 because that's when Duncan Baguma had a Mom and Dad. The previous day we were just visitors. We'll still remember all the other milestones too, but that will be the official day of celebration from here on out.

Not sure what we'll call it yet. Forever Day, Eka Day (Eka is "family" in Duncan's mother-language), Adoptiversary, Familyversary, Baguma Day, Gotcha Day. . . ???

What a wondrous work God has done in his life and in OURS. We are honored to be this little guy's parents. I am blown away. We have a front seat to a miracle-filled work that God has done and continues to do in this little Tooro Prince!
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever. (Psalm 118.1)

Here's the little peanut exactly 12 months ago! My tiny little Apuuli! (Apuuli is his Tooro empaako--a pet name tradition central to their culture)

And now. . . (I might be partial but I happen to think he is exquisite. He takes after his Ugandan mother and grandfather.)

12 months ago. . .

And now. . .

Duncan and Mommy we we were leaving the orphanage, and 3 pics after church yesterday.

Duncan Baguma we are so blessed to be your parents. We pray we can do you justice and be the parents you deserve. You are a priceless treasure to us and we can't imagine life without you, little Apuuli.

Big Mouth Little Bird!

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:26:00 +0000

Rick walked into the kitchen and thought the sight of 2 little birdies waiting for cherries was camera-worthy. :)

Gardening and Landscaping

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:37:00 +0000

The kids and I have been busy doing lots of planting and watering.

They're digging in a patch of dirt that eventually will be filled in with brick. It used to be covered in lots of ivy. I went on a mission to rid our house of ivy. It's about 95% complete.

They came out of the garage with these cones on their heads. Safety first! They're from these Halloween costumes.

Our kids are so content when they are WORKING. It is so healthy for kids to have little jobs, to contribute. . . There are some things they can actually help with, like hauling water and watering flowers. And when I don't have an actual job for them, I make up one, like in the above picture. I might not have really needed that antique wash tub filled with dirt, but I gave it to them along with trowels and they were SO happy and busy for so long. So pleased with themselves. (Of course, all our kids have their moments of just whining when we want them to help with something! They are not perfect!)

Goal: be intentional about more jobs for the kids especially this summer when they're all home full time.

Fallyn is our happiest worker. She gets GIDDY.

Helping me dig a hole for our new Oklahoma redbud tree, a gift from my dad.

I really like digging and manual labor. I could shovel dirt for hours, but the thought of 15 minutes on an elliptical at the Y--ugh!

Can't wait to watch our redbud grow! It'll add some character and color to the front of our house.

Playing in the back of Grandpa's truck.

Crafting - Vintage Wreaths

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:52:00 +0000

Fallyn has been busy off and on the past few weeks working on little wreaths made mostly with our stash of vintage supplies.

Vintage fabric, trims, buttons, feathers, eggs. . .

She is good with a glue gun and craft supplies! The only part I've really done is form the flowers/rosettes that are made from vintage trim. She glues everything and decides where to put things.

She has a long list of people to make one for. All the grandmas, Aunt Ann, other special ladies. . . and Tyler. haha!

I made little nests out of jute twine that she put on each wreath. She said we need lace in the nest to make it cute. Good call. She is an old lady at heart!

Easter 2012

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:09:00 +0000

We did Easter supper and egg hunt on Saturday at the Orchards'. Here's all the cousins except baby Bo. It's the best we could do! :)

We try to keep Easter simple, because it's not about us or our kids! If they ask why they don't get a lot of presents we say it's because their birthdays are about them, but Easter is NOT. Same for Christmas. We are not opposed to celebrations that include goodies but we do not lavish STUFF on our kids. Easter is indeed a celebration! Grandma and Grandpa blessed all the kids with an Easter basket full of goodies.

I was going to sew Fallyn a dress for Easter, but while I had the kids in St Joe to visit their cousins, Fallyn and Vivian both found a dress at a consignment store for a really good deal. $6 plus not having to put in a couple hours of sewing = SOLD! :)

The cardigan was a garage sale find for $1. So are the shoes.

Fallyn wanted a braid with ribbon in it for Easter. I made her a big bow to top it off.

Since it was Duncan's first Easter, I did do the rare thing of just walking into Target and buying a shirt off the regular rack. Calvin got a matching shirt.

We hung out at our house all day Sunday after church and lunch. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the kids on a beautiful day, celebrating a beautiful Savior!!! We ended the day of fellowship by walking to Dairy Queen.

Here's Rick and his brothers.

Fallyn and her youngest cousin Emily.

Seahorse

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:57:00 +0000

We have our first pet, a female betta we adopted from my niece.

Fallyn named her Seahorse.

(We didn't name her next brother or sister Seahorse like she wanted.)

We had some tiny fishies (like minnows, but not) from a creek for a couple days, and they didn't make it. Fallyn had named them Rhino, Seahorse, Cupcake, Sprinkle, Cutie, and Snuggle.

Three Dollars

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:55:00 +0000

My sweet mama recently got me a Sams membership, and I found clearance flowers for $3. They've been perfect for a week now! What a nice touch for only $3. I arranged them in 3 vintage jars/vases.

The middle is my favorite. Vintage Bell mason jar with white carnations = perfection.

3 little bud vases in my kitchen.

And Fallyn wanted one in her attic room.

Life in Tornado Alley

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:49:00 +0000

You've probably seen the news reports all over the country about the crazy tornado outbreak by now.

I've lived in Kansas my entire life and like many long-time residents, this was the first time a lot of us actually took cover. There were well over 100 tornadoes that touched down, and 99 of those were in Kansas!

That's practically double the annual average number of tornadoes, and it was in one day!

Experts were able to warn days in advance this time of a very high chance of tornadoes, and used lovely words like deadly, life-threatening, long-track, very powerful, very large. . . and ZERO lives were lost in Kansas. Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Oklahoma (5 lives lost).

Entire homes were lost in Wichita and when you see the pictures of the destruction, it is amazing no lives were lost, and that the worst injury reported in Wichita was a broken leg. Lots of prayer and lots of advanced warning were definite contributors.

There was one very large (1/2 mile to 3/4 mile wide) long-track tornado that had been on the ground since Oklahoma City. We watched the news reports and watched the clock tick until it was scheduled to hit Wichita. We knew for a couple hours that it was on its way here, so it was time to get serious for the first time in our lives about a tornado.

We hunkered down in the basement with our friends and their 3 kids who do not have a basement.

We spent a little time Friday and Saturday gathering some things to put in the basement, and Saturday evening we took more precautions.

Very strange feeling walking around your house trying to think what you really want to try to save if your whole house blows away later in the day. I even took a quick video of each room in case everything was gone so that we could jog our memory of what was in each room for insurance purposes.

Shortly before the tornado was scheduled to reach our area, we put shoes on all the kids and ourselves, closed curtains and doors, and sat together and prayed with our kids. We listened all day and evening to the weather reports--"Don't panic, just take precautions to save your life and the lives of others in your home." Ummm, ok.

The power went out eventually, and we sat in the dark with the kids and listened to Jeremy's weather radio.

Marcee's brave face while we listened to where the tornado had been, where it was headed (VERY near us), and then listened as the report said it had veered more eastward! It missed us!!!

Our 5 babies (Fallyn was out of town with my parents, and our other friend is hiding under the blanket).

Brooks (left) conked out!

The only casualty was our friends' van. Our street floods when there's heavy, steady rain. . . It barely sprinkled at our house, even! So we were SHOCKED when our street was higher than it's been in a LONG time, with basically NO RAIN here! Apparently a TON of rain dumped REALLY QUICKLY elsewhere in Wichita and still made its way to our street!

Afterward. . . NO TORNADO, HOORAY!

After the storms died out, experts were saying on the news on Sunday that they were expecting another "Greensburg" or "Udall" (google those if you don't know about those--some of the most devastating tornadoes in history), expecting mass destruction, expecting our city to be in ruins and lives to be lost. . .

We have much to be thankful for!!!

Another Birthday Past. . .

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:54:00 +0000

Pearl turned four years old a few days ago. . . that makes me very sad.
I don't like being here when they are there, and I don't like seeing more days and months and birthdays tick by.

I'm praying hard we can travel "this year" and that more birthdays don't come and go (Spunky's was in January). There have been setbacks. . . please do not stop praying, friends.

Babygirl, not a day goes by that our hearts don't ache with love and longing for you. . . Happy Birthday sweet little Pearl.

Happy Spring Y'all

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:40:00 +0000

Our lovely tree is in full bloom! It's been unseasonably warm so our tree is announcing Spring a bit early this year, but we'll take it!

Goofballs.

Reach.

We enjoyed a few hours outside yesterday evening. . . played, ate. . .

. . . Fallyn called Tyler. The end.

Happy Spring everyone!!!

(more pics of our tree here!)

First Haircut {Here}

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:03:00 +0000

Duncan got his first haircut since he's been here.

He wanted a buzz like Calvin and Daddy.

He thought the tufts of hair were hilarious!

This haircut went much better than the last one!

He got one in Uganda before court in Fort Portal.

Not a happy camper!

David helped make it all better. He ducked into the little shop next door and came back with a lollipop! :)

David rocks. I thank God often that they live just a couple hours away in KS!

What a difference 9 months makes, eh?!

Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:51:00 +0000

These 2 are as brotherly as they get!

They're inseparable. . .

. . . they get a kick out of each other. . .

. . . they like to dress alike. . .

. . . they crack themselves up with potty humor (much to Mom and Dad's dismay). . .

I am one blessed mama!!!

(This super sweet pic was right after the previous one involving the inevitable potty humor...boys--sheesh. They're awesome though.)

*LOVE*

Fun-Dip, Gold Coins, and Ice Cream with Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:20:00 +0000

Our friends dropped in last Saturday. . . Mia and I got a kick out of Aaron and Rick sitting around, talking about life, and eating blue Fun-Dip.

I was slow getting around to Valentine's stuff--I mean, we like to stretch out the holidays, so I finally gave the kids their little gift from us. . . 2 weeks late. But they didn't care. They had a constant stream of candy and little cards anyway.

Someone LOVES chocolate gold coins and was so excited Daddy found some!

Simple gifts.

One afternoon I was home with the 2 littles and we heard a rumble outside. . . a very sudden hail storm dumped a lot of hail in a very short time. Duncan got to see his first hail-dump, and sample his first hail stone.

When he ate it he said, "It's like ice cream with potatoes on it." HAHA!

Seven

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:06:00 +0000

Calvin turned SEVEN a few weeks ago!

He's such a good big brother.

Calvin had a seamless transition into having a new sibling, and we are so thankful for his care and love for Duncan.

He was MEANT to have a brother.

Duncan sure likes his big brother, too!

Buddy Bear is still a special friend. :)

Some families joined us at McDonald's (winter birthday location options are limited!) for cake, ice cream sundaes, and the kids took home Chiclets for their favor. We love SIMPLE. :)

My Valentines

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:46:00 +0000

(pic by Calvin last fall. . . at a church playground by our house, wet hair from shower, no mascara... oh well--I like it.)

I like him. For lots of reasons.

He gave me 3 kids.

He's hott even when he's doing icky things like eating canned oysters.

He does 100% of our laundry, and 100% of some other things, and a lotta % of a lot of other things.

He wants to be a father to the fatherless. And he does all our laundry. And he looks good while doing all that. H-O-T-T.

No Valentine's plans yet. . . I think watching Napoleon Dynamite again with Rickilicious sounds like a mighty fine plan.

Our love is like a flock of doves. . . always and forever. . .

Can you tell we're not mushy-gushy flowery romantics? :)

I'll take laundry and orphans and Napoleon any day.

Maybe that's why Valentine's is not a very big deal to me. . . cause I am SPOILED year-round. :)
Although. . . for Rick's gift, I am rehearsing this to perform for him when he gets home.

My other 3 super-cute Valentines:

Wooden Snowmen Decoration

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:09:00 +0000

This was my parents' anniversary gift from all the grandkids right after Christmas that they "helped" with. :)

The only thing small kids can really do is pick out colors, and hand you things to help. :)

I think it turned out really well, if I do say so myself.

Sorry, I'm not big on making tutorials that show every little step--this is me cutting a piece of felt. This is me spray painting wooden balls. This is me hot gluing tiny pom-poms. . . When I start a project I just want to get it done as quickly as I can. And, I hid in my parents basement to work on it, worked at our house, hid in my parents' garage, had Rick do some of it. . . a photo tutorial is just not going to happen. :)

So, I'll just tell you what materials I used and the general steps.

Each snowman is one grandkid. Seven current ones, and 2 more to come soon.

They each have their own color scarf, and each of the kids picked their own "button" colors and helped picked Pearl and Spunky's colors.

On my parents' mantle after the kids presented it to them.
Those are all "my kids" and my brother's "kids". . . that's a lot. :) I'll have to get a bigger board when my little brother has some.

Materials:

*unfinished wood plaque-thingy (Hobby Lobby)
*packages of unfinished wooden balls (Hobby Lobby) in 2 sizes. They have one flat end which worked perfectly for being able to glue it to the plaque, and to glue a hat to the top.
*colored felt (Hobby Lobby)
*stiff black felt for the hat bases (HL)
*tiny pom-poms (HL)
*thick dowel rod (HL)
*spray glitter--clear with silver sparkles (HL)
*black and white spray paint
*black and orange acrylic craft paint
*hot glue gun
*wood glue

Steps:

*Spray paint plaque and wooden balls white. Spray all over with spray-glitter--kind of lightly since you'll add more later. If you spray the wooden balls before it's all assembled, you can get more even coverage.
*Cut dowel rod into 1" pieces or so (that was Rick's job in the garage) and spray paint black.
*Cut stiff black felt into circles.
*Use wood glue to glue wooden balls together. The scarves will cover up excess glue.
*Cut strips of felt, tie around the snowmen, use hot glue dots to hold in place if needed.
*Attach pom-poms with hot glue.
*Hot-glue the hat bases to the dowel pieces. Hot-glue the hats on the snowmen.
*Use the pointy end of a paintbrush to add eyes and mouths with black acrylic paint. Use toothpick to add carrot-nose with orange paint.
*Hot-glue snowmen to plaque-base.
*Spray on more glitter!!!

Christmas Crafts

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:44:00 +0000

Gotta love Hobby Lobby's half-off craft kits sales!

Got 2 of these kits for $5 each. They make a TON of ornaments, and would occupy several hours!

Straight pins, sequins, beads, hard styrofoam balls, strings for hanging.

I left the kits out on the table for over a month and they worked on them periodically.

We have about 6 or 7 completed ornaments, and the fixin's to make a LOT more than that. 30-some.

We will be working on these for a couple years I think. Quite the bargain.

Also bought some foam craft kits that provided a lot of busy-work, too, for the kids.

Making things with their own hands is SO satisfying for kids. . . I need to be more intentional with craft time. Have not put in a lot of effort the last several months.

They are SO happy when they are making something.

Some of Duncan's foam crafts. *love*

He delivered penguins that we glued magnets to to the doctor's office. . . he loved having gifts to give.

they are perfect.

Ugandan Necklaces

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:44:00 +0000

A friend of mine is clearing out all her leftover shirts and necklaces to help us bring the girls home! She has GREAT items for really good prices! Check them out here and her second batch here.

We still have the puzzle fundraiser going on, too!

So blessed to think of all the good friends heading up these efforts and supporting the efforts!

She's Four

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:56:00 +0000

"Spunky" turned 4 years old this week. :)

Thinking nonstop about 2 little sweeties. . . will you pray for their well-being, please?

We hope to hear our court date soon!

A Second (and Final!) Shirt Order

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:18:00 +0000

Here's one last chance to order a Hope shirt to help support the adoption of Pearl and Spunky!

The deadline to order is MONDAY, JANUARY 16!

Ordering info can be found here. Let me know if you have questions about sizing and stuff. Now that we've seen the shirts, we know how the sizes "run" in the different styles!

Also, the puzzle fundraiser is still going on!

No set court date yet, but most likely we've only got a couple/few weeks left stateside!

Thanks, everyone, for all your support that has come in so many forms!

Advent Calender Made in Africa

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:43:00 +0000

I finally found an advent calendar I liked well enough to spend the money on for our family.

I looked for several years and we just never had an advent calendar because there wasn't one special/meaningful enough.

Then I spotted this beauty. . . handmade in Africa. . . supports a good cause. . . the 6-year search was over! :)

Everything is hand-sewn. . . Every piece is hand-carved. . . I can't imagine how many hours went into it! It's so gorgeous--my pics don't do it justice.

I bought this last year in early December at a craft show that had an Amani Ya Juu booth. Similar to many other organizations, women in Africa are making the items and earning income to help themselves and their children. . .

I almost felt guilty for snagging the ONLY advent calendar from that awesome booth. . . because I thought someone with really close ties to Africa should have dibs, but I went ahead and bought it before they even opened (since I was a vendor at the show, too).

I just loved that it was all handmade and that it supports a good cause, and of course I like Africa--who doesn't?

Then. . . just a FEW DAYS later was when we learned about Duncan and it was even more special to have for our family!!!

That made the calendar even more special of course!

Priceless Letter to Duncan

noreply@blogger.com (TheHappyNeills) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:24:00 +0000

Solomon, a very special young man in Fort Portal, sent Duncan a letter (through Carol, through another family who was in Fort Portal who mailed it to us when they got back to the US). We just received it today. It is a priceless treasure, and is written on behalf of the entire extended family. Solomon was the oldest of the grandchildren and would've been the head of the household when their grandmother passed away. Carol made sure that there would be one less child-headed household, though. She got him in to a very good boarding school and is in the top 5% of his class! He is an amazing 17 yr old. Since we were in Fort Portal in May, he was home on school break so we had the honor of meeting him. His love and deep concern for Baguma (who he had not seen for a couple years) was evident. If that alone was the reason we were delayed (we really thought we'd be there in April!), then it was soooo worth it. I pray we can see him again when we go back.

I am posting this letter so that you can have a little taste of what the other side of adoption entails in many cases--many people with care and concern for the child that they had to say goodbye to. People who will always remember the child and wonder how they are, hope they are safe and well-cared for. . . It is a misnomer to think that every orphan must have been unwanted. . . discarded. . . unloved. . .

We are extremely blessed to have Carol as a "middle man" to make it possible for them to see updates on Duncan Baguma, and for us to hear updates on them, etc. It is an amazing thing that we will have things like this to show Duncan.

Dear Baguma,

How are you doing? We hope this letter finds you okay. We are happy that you found a new family there and pray that God may lead you in everything you do and protect you always with your family.

We take pleasure to encourage you to know that we also love you so much and that your new family cares and loves you too.

We have not managed to send you photos of our family but hope the next time we write they will be attached to the letter. We shall often think about you and pray that life goes with you well there.

I remain Birungi Solomon, on behalf of the family. Bye.