coming home!

It is time to catch up my blog audience (blog-ience?), baby!

When we left Kiev on December 3rd, 2010 (a month and a half ago) it was 15F and I remember thinking, Wow! It is SO cold!  But here we are mid-winter in Indiana with an average daily of 5F, snowed in and things around the house are back to our “normal”.  So….I’m back to blogging.  It might be sloppy blogging today (slogging?) since I’m doing this while managing a few other conversations.

It is heart-wrenching to think back to the kids we saw at the orphanage that are left behind.  Take, for instance, this total sweetheart.

Isn’t he the cutest????

Wherever his family may be, they are having a hard time finding him, I think.  So…please pass this post along, because we and many parents who have met this boy know that he is just awesome.  AND HE NEEDS A FAMILY!!!

You see?????  He has a bright future ahead of him….as soon an adoptive family finds him and commits to him.

Will you please pray that this sweet little boy gets a committed family soon?

I NEED A FAMILY!!!

Marc and I could talk this boy up all day.  He’s smart, inquisitive and all boy…and by that we mean he will likely never wear pink by choice.  Or light red.  Think cowboy boots and Carhartts.  Think race cars and trucks.  Think gadgets and building.  Boy.

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Here is one of our last view’s of Zoe’s “home away from home”.  Far, far away from home.  And for a very long while.

Last view of the orphanage

Last view of Zoe's room

I was able to go into a few other rooms at Zoe’s orphanage, so I thought I’d share one of those pictures here.  Please notice how clean and well-taken care of everything is…the grounds, the floors, the sheets.   We are so grateful that Zoe grew up in a place that is so well-run as this is.   The director at this place is so brilliant and so sharp!  She runs a tight ship.  Still, as you look at these room photos, imagine yourself there.

I may have said it before, but knowing that there are orphans and knowing orphaned children are two very different things.

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In the airport,

we were accompanied by another RR family, the Smith family bringing home Dasha!    If you would like to see how Dasha is doing, visit the Smith Family blog at www.smithadoptionfun.blogspot.com We all had gotten up at 2:30 am or so to catch a ride to the airport.  Nice and early.

The Smiths with Dasha, and Meredith Cornish

We all flew out of Kiev with the Cornish Family.  The Cornish’s have…well, let’s see…now (with the latest adoption addition of 2)…they have 10 kids!   Wow is right!  And they are just awesome to boot.   They have adopted many.  You will want to check out the Cornish Family Blog: www.mcornish.org.   If you want to know anything at all about adoptions or where to buy the cheapest diapers (Amazon.com Subscribe and Save), just ask Meredith.

And here is sweet Zoe….awoken in the night, dragged from an unfamiliar bed and taken to an unfamiliar place.  A brother of a friend said, “Every day must be like Disneyland for her!,” and I agree.  It is literally a whole new world…as it always is when one experiences new freedom.

Leafing through a magazine...a pasttime that provided hours of entertainment on the flights home!

There was no physical birth experience between Zoe and I, but I have seen her be born out of the womb of the acre of land that physically held her into the great, big, amazing world in which we walk around every day and know so well.

The many flights home were tiring (imagine that after not sleeping very much for several nights prior!), but we made it.  Zoe didn’t sleep much, so neither did I.   She sat in her seat with no problems at all and kept herself happy with magazines, DVDs and snacks.  She charmed several people along the way and enjoyed her once in a lifetime adventure!  At the Washington Dulles airport where we greatly enjoyed the huge spaces in which to linger, we saw this:And so the sun set on Zoe’s first day on US soil.  Amazing.

I longed so much for home and for REST after the long travels, and by that I mean…I was dizzy tired.  The airline clerk in Frankfort asked me where I had started out the day and I honestly couldn’t tell him right off the bat.  I was ready for sleep!  But first, and here’s the best part…..

ZOE HAS A FOREVER FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     My parents are taking this picture.  I have seen a video of this airport moment somewhere, and if I ever find it I will post it right here.  If.

It felt WONDERFUL to be in a familiar culture and around my favorite familiar faces once again!   And, just as with any birth….I would do it again in a heartbeat.  It was emotionally difficult for our family to be separated by so many miles for a few weeks, but in the end it has strengthened our relationships to have endured together.

I couldn’t post very many details of our travels on our public blog while traveling, so I did that on a private blog.  I’m working on finishing it up to make it available to friends and as a resource for those adopting.  If you would like to access our private blog, please let me know.

Again, thanks for following.  Thanks for sharing in the call of God on our lives and for encouraging us in pursing things that don’t rust or fade.