The Johnson Journal: October 2013

What a two months it has been. I am so sorry for the lack of correspondence… we have been a bit busy with a two month old and moving back to Uganda. Is it a bad sign that I am already behind on Nathan’s baby book… and we have no other kids?

The seven weeks we were in the states after Nathan’s birth were an absolute blast and blur! We loved being able to spend time at my parent’s house in Bedford and see so many wonderful friends there. We also were so blessed to travel to California to see friends and family there before heading back to Uganda. We were spoiled with incredible baby showers and warm congratulations. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. Nathan continues to do great. Now at 9 weeks old he has flown from Boston to California and back and now to Uganda. Not too shabby!

Leaving Boston was heart-wrenching, but as many Ugandan’s have told us, Nathan looks a lot like Papa Paul, so I guess we brought a bit of Dad with us here J God was so kind to us while we were home. We were so humbled by the generosity of my parents to let us stay at their place for 3.5 months! We would not change that time for the world. As we were mentally gearing up to leave, we were given a very unexpected gift. We were notified that our flight would be delayed out of Boston causing us to miss our connection in London…, which would have meant 72 hours in London, so instead we stayed in Boston for a few extra days! It was even more of a gift to be delayed, because my Aunt and Uncle had come up from Virginia to meet Nathan and so what was going to be about 48 hours with them, ended up being 5 days! God is beyond kind! We loved our time with them.

The flight back to Uganda was a bit daunting to us. First of all it felt like we were carrying half of the United States (or at least Costco, Target and Trader Joes) in our luggage, and we had about 36 hours of transit with a 7 week old. But God truly heard and answered everyone of your and our prayers. Nathan literally did not make a sound for both legs of the trip. We would like to take credit as parents for that one… actually it was just a miracle. Nathan is a good kid, but not normally that good! We were blessed with good seats, and smooth connections. It felt wonderful landing in Entebbe, seeing all 9 of our suitcases offloaded and enjoy breakfast at the Boma before traveling to Mbale. The Boma had a table set up to welcome us, complete with presents for Nathan and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. They then proceeded to take Nathan while we ate. We felt very welcomed.

The four hour drive to Mbale seemed a bit long. However, Nathan slept for most of it and just started to complain about the long trip as we entered Mbale. It always feels wonderful to be welcomed home by Wanale, a reminder of the powerful God we serve. Our other two dependents, Jack and Lemon, welcomed us home. They sniffed this new family member but were much more behaved than we gave them credit for. Derek and some of our friends here had done a lot of work to our house, so it looked awesome. A beautiful bunting welcoming Nathan was hung on the wall from our friend Jill… humbling. Not more than an hour after we were home, Tiffany Vale showed up with dinner for us… we were home and it felt so good! Even our dear friend Robby came by (he's British, but we love him nonetheless) to round out our first night.

Since then, we've been settling in. Unpacking took a bit longer, cooking takes longer… but we would not trade it for the world. Each day we are figuring out how to live as a family of three in Uganda and it is a really fun journey. It has been so fun introducing Nathan to our friends here. We cannot make it through the hospital without stopping every 3 feet to meet, greet and hand off Nathan to one of our colleagues. He is a well loved little guy.

Speaking of, we just celebrated (meaning Derek and I acknowledged) Nathan’s two month birthday. I would love to tell you all the things my son can do… but they really are limited to eating, sleeping and pooping. So, I will save my fingers from typing and you for comparing your child to mine. He is a really fun kid, always moving and appears very strong. He rolled over from his stomach to his back last week. A very advanced kid.. or at least he got himself up enough that his heavy head just kinda tipped him over. Both are true and fair statements. But we love this little guy more each day. It is so fun to start to see his personality. Nothing is as fun as when he smiles at you.. again, not consistent but we hear at least at this age it is not from gas.

So now I will just post some pictures of him which is really why we all read blogs. Sorry this entry is so disjointed, I could go on and on about the incredible times we had at home and how each of you blessed us... but Nathan has woken up since I began this and needs a diaper change, so I must end this now. Looking forward to touching base with each of you. And sincerely, thank you for the way you loved us while we were home. Our time with each of you blessed us more than we can express. The one person we didn't get to see, and the one that has made being in Uganda the hardest has been our baby niece Ana. Kar and Gabe had Ana on Sept 30 and she is just the cutest. WE LOVE Ana and are so sad we are missing getting to meet her, but please, if you live near, give her a hug and kiss from us! She is the picture near the end, the little baby in Pink :)