Whats up with Chocolate Drop? [Adoption Update]

I have not updated this blog in so long- but honestly Ive felt a bit paralyzed. As an artist, via words, paint, wire, textiles, photos, video, plants, hair, music, paper, and more, you never realize that your life will greatly affect your work until it does in an overwhelming way.

Ive definitely got that up and down personality that flows with my life and what Im going through, where I go through high cycles of productivity, emotion, creating, and then lows- periods of deep thought and reflection, serious pondering, and rest. Life seems to be that way often, and my work reflects that, as well as my personality-I’m either oversharing or mostly silent. Splattering paint, or staring at my work- seriously considering throwing it all out and starting over at another time.

IS IT WEIRD THAT I LOVE THIS COMMERCIAL?!

“You have no idea what you are doing.

This is great.

People who know what their doing,

know the rules,

and they know what is possible,

and what is impossible.

You do not.

The rules on what is possible, and impossible,

in the arts, were made by people,

who had not tested the bounds of the possible,

by going beyond them.

And you can.

[Guys chill- stop making me want apple products. As someone who never watches advertising, and has only owned an ipod, their ad team has been KILLING IT LATELY- i mean between the underdogs round pizza box ad, the bounce airpods ad, and then this one? super inspiring vibes lately. 🙂

So my personal experiences in life make it difficult to run a blog, I am a very private person (Currently to the point that 90% of people who know me haven’t seen me in years) and Ive just been going through a lot that I dont feel is shareable. Thats all good- and Im also not willing to overshare my sons story- but I do want to update, so the community who has supported us on this journey can stay in the loop with us as we continue on.

I have not been able to write about it- due to intenseness that can’t be put into words at the moment- but I’m.. like a mom now guys. We went to court and we got our official adoption paperwork from Uganda, we are currently just doing a few embassy steps and then he comes home.

And I’m Sorry y’all, but I’ve got to put the plug: If anyone wants to help us with the financial burden of bringing him home: hit up my paypal with any amount and I will be eternally grateful for the role you played in not only helping pay for the travel costs but also in encouraging me on this journey and being understanding that most people don’t take 6 years, a mountain of medical expenses, endless hassles and disappointments with agencies and embassies, and 3 international trips to bring home their first child. 💸💰💳💲💵💚

I didn’t need the paperwork and Ugandas approval to know that I’m his mother, he told me the second day I knew him, and God confirmed it the first day. That’s all I really needed, but it does help as far as being able to explain to other people our situation as well as legally live with him as a parent without leaving the rest of my family and loved ones behind.

*hmmm another weird artist thing is that I often wake up in the middle of the night to create something or type my heart and soul out, and then have no recollection of it the next day, and then later when I am writing I start remembering things that sound familiar like I may have written them before, then go track them down in my drafts where there are probably about 70 unpublished posts! I also, however, am writing in my head sometimes.

As some of you know our first trip for court October 2018, our court date was canceled due to a death in the judges family and we waited for it to be rescheduled but it was not. Then we waited for it to be rescheduled in December and it was not- add in all the other timeline and progress disappointments- in February 2019 when court went as well as possible- I was so, so happy and grateful, I wanted to stand on the top of our van in the court parking lot and sing”God is on the move, Hallelujah!” as loud as possible. We got our other ruling later on, I think May. Its official guys!

So I wanted to share some of our court photos here and also a few photos of him with his grandmother, uncles, and other family members. I think he looks so much like his grandmother and two of his uncles, on this last trip in February 2019 it was so cool to finally meet those two and see the resemblance and quite honestly there is a resemblance in their vibes and energy. They have a very calm and balanced energy. The definition of chill. You guys my heart absolutely soared on this last trip when I saw my baby and his grandmother ride up on a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) I was ecstatic. Where they live is actually not reachable by car, up deep in some mountains.

My son is currently living with his relatives, its not an easy life for them or him at all, but I am thankful for the opportunity to temporarily have him soak up as much of his family, culture, country, languages, foods, and natural environment while he is still in Uganda, waiting to come here with us. It is so important to me that he have this time not living in an institution and being around his remaining family members for a brief time before he makes his big transition.

Prayer requests- please pray for my son that he stay healthy and not break any bones or get any illnesses, and for his family who do not have an easy life and are also stretching their resources even further to spend this time with him. Please ask for blessings on him and his family during this time, and for us to continue to prepare to bring him home. Please pray for our finances, our fundraising, our debt, our travel costs, our childrens home, school and ministry in Uganda [GMChildrensMinistry.OrG] and our impending medical costs when our son is here in America. Please pray for our trip and for our preparation time before the trip to be of maximum efficiency, rest, and alignment with Gods will as we prepare for the biggest transition in our and his lives. Thank you so much for being with me on this journey it means so much, because choices like the ones I have made, and work like the work I have chosen, can be very isolating, and knowing I have the support of others is a very comforting feeling. 💚

For my work with GM Childrens Ministry I am currently fundraising to support a brick making project that will make our home and school more sustainable. It is easiest (and loses the least amount of fees in the process) to use the same paypal- so just write a memo where you want your donation to go! Thank you, 🥰🙌 (Image below is our tracker and is clickable for donations)

Recently posted 2 travel photo vlogs from the last trip, on my youtube if you want to check those out you can click on them below:

I am going to RELAUNCH all of our tshirt fundraisers(one at a time) that I have done for the past 5 years, to try to make some progress on our adoption fundraising and making our childrens home more sustainable. All different sizes, colors, and styles for each design! the photos below are clickable 🙂 There is an option to click if you go to the link and the fundraiser is not currently open but you want to be notified when it is.

We also have an auction/market going on for August at this facebook page, some more items will be listed soon- be sure to like the page!

Love you guys, thanks for reading and supporting our lil adventure!

have a beautiful, wonderful day! 🌺💜🌈✨💙

PS- I also have a weight loss fundraiser going- I have not updated my monthly weigh-ins but plan to do so more consistently in the future. 🙂 https://pledgeit.org/steph 💜