10 Days

We first met Benjamin/Sasha at his orphanage about 8 months ago.  We have been home with him for about 5 months.  This picture is from the very first day that we met him in Pishanna.

I think the fear and uncertainty are pretty clearly written all over his face.  We were strangers telling him we wanted to take him to a new country, a new culture, with new food and a new language.  We were offering him a family - something completely new to him.  Yet he wanted it badly enough, he stepped out in faith and came with us.  This is a picture of him from a few days ago....a mere 8 months later.

He has fully embraced his new life and his new family.  He loves being in the U.S., loves our food, loves our family, and is a very happy boy.  He talks all the time.  He makes jokes all the time.  Look for yourself at the difference the love of a family can make in a child.  He does not even look like the same kid to me.  I asked him today why he was so quiet at his orphanage.  He said, "Because there were so many people there."  He is blossoming and growing in his family now.  It is natural to crave family.  It is God's plan for children to have family.  Sasha wanted a family.  And he is so happy.  He thanks me for teaching him.  He thanks me for doing his laundry.  He thanks me for meals - he says, "Very very good!" It is not all perfect by any means, but a deep longing in him has been fulfilled.

There is another boy who was a classmate and friend of Benjamin's named Radik.  We met him while we were at Pishanna and were able to spend some time with him.   He is a special boy who is almost always smiling and enjoys interacting with people.  Over the last few years Radik has watched as several of his friends and classmates have been adopted.  He often talks about his desire to have a family too.  But, his time is running out.  Radik's 16th birthday is May 24th.  In Ukraine, children age out of the orphanage system at 16.  They leave their orphanage and are expected to find their way in the world.  The vast majority of the boys end up addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, in jail, or dead within a few years.  It is their stark reality.  Radik needs a family to begin the process to adopt him before his birthday.  10 days.  We need to find someone in 10 days.  Please pray for this miracle for Radik!  For more information about him and what it would take to adopt him please contact me.

I have never in the life of this blog, asked anyone to share it.  Today, I do.  We need to get the word out to as many people as possible.  We never know who in our circle of friends may be feeling the call to adopt and time is running out for Radik.  10 days.  Through God, all things are possible.  10 days.  Please share if you are able.

Normal?

What a week last week was!  I find I keep saying that, week after week.  Perhaps that is our new normal?  .Last week, a tornado swept through our area and while we did not receive any damage to our home, it did take out our electricity from Monday evening until late Wednesday night.   Typing that makes it sound like not such a long time, but it was long enough to make us realize how dependent we are upon electricity.  With 9 people living in our home, that is 2 long days with no laundry, no air conditioning, no tv (which I actually enjoyed!), heating water for baths, juggling preparing meals with no oven, no dishwasher to help with clean up, and no refrigerator or freezer.  Fortunately, we had people store our freezer foods for us and we ate or lost all of our refrigerator food.  The kids all piled into the living room at night to sleep because they were scared of the complete dark that was our street for those nights.  Today while at our pediatrician's office she learned of our new additions and asked in jest if they were all sleeping on the floor.  Our 4 year old fd said, "Only when the lights do not work."  :)  I am hoping that Dr. VanNorman knows us well enough to know that we do indeed have electricity and put it together that we lost power after the storm.  While juggling 5 kids in her office, it was not worth the effort to explain it to her!  Anyway, we made it through and are all just fine.  We continue to pray for those who lost their homes and are trying to recover from the storms.

Now, we are partially into this week and again I am thinking, "What a week!"  I am packing for 7 kids to go away for a long weekend, moving an eighth child home from college, loading a U-Haul with furniture to take to a ninth kid and his soon-to-be wife, and trying to breathe and do school as well.  We absolutely could not do it all without so much help.  Two precious young ladies found out I was going to Starkville with 5 of our kiddos to move Caroline home and offered to come over and keep the kids AND bring lunch for the day so I can go alone.  Really - like all day.  We could not have better help!  We originally had 3 bicycles for 7 kids to share, and after a question I put on facebook about looking for some used bikes, we now have a bicycle for each child.  It is amazing.  It is one of their favorite things to do and it will involve much less refereeing by me now that they each have their own.  Someone else brought us diapers and groceries on Sunday and someone I had never met came up to me in church and gave us a check to help cover the costs of the girls' clothes they need.  All of these things really add up and make us and the kids feel so blessed.

I never ever want to paint an unrealistic fairy tale picture of what it is like to care for kids from hard pasts.  I just want to say that having the help of your church family and community makes it so much easier and more doable.  Thank you notes are something that have fallen by the wayside for now unfortunately.  But truly - thanks....to all of you.  And if you know someone who is fostering or adopting, reach out to them!  You will never know how much it means to them.