Heart for Orphans Visit

We had a great dinner and visit with Nancy and Steve from Hearts for Orphans.  We got to hear their adoption stories; it was much different 10 years ago.  Back then you got to decided when you were going to come to Ukraine, you did not have to wait for an appointment.  The kids were personally brought in one by one, for lack of a better word, to audition.  They would sing, recite poetry etc... whatever would make them look desirable.

Before Nancy and Steve saw the kids they prayed that God would lead them to the child that they were supposed to adopt. There was one girl in particular that the orphanage was trying to get Nancy and Steve to take.  She was cute, had a beautiful smile, and did a great song and dance.  But, they ended adopting a sweet, shy, 9 year old that everyone in the States mistook for a boy because her hair was so short.  After they chose her, it was a whirlwind getting the paperwork in order and the child and the child to Poland for her Visa.  I cannot remember the exact number of days that they were here, but it was something like 9 days.  When they got to the States people were asking them what is she like and they had to answer that they had no idea.

At some point this girl said that she wanted Nancy and Steve to adopt her friend.  Well, by August the next year they had two girls.  The whole story as Nancy tells it is quite amazing, especially knowing how hard and time consuming it is now.  I would love it if Nancy would post her story.  The prayers that were answered for their family are amazing to hear.

I am so proud of myself for preparing the dinner that I made for Nancy and Steve.  I made homemade bread and rolls - from scratch; we made butter and whipped cream by shaking liquid whipping cream in a jar; I made key lime pie from scratch.  I am feeling like a real cook.

It is amazing how we take so many pre-packed things for granted when we cook.  Being thrown into a situation where so many of the things we have at home are not available makes one stretch their abilities.  The boys really like it when I make a dessert.  It is probably their favorite part of the meal.

Today, Friday, we woke up to 5-6 inches of snow.  It is okay because that means it is warmer.  Another thing that we take for granted - snow shovels.  Bill and the boys were out early this morning sweeping the driveway.  Bill broke one broom.

Yesterday, even though it was a nice day, I was really struggling with back pain.  Sometimes when it comes on I have no idea why.  My Father-in-law worked really hard a couple of days before we left getting me some Percocet.  I am grateful every time I need one.  I ended up staying in my room most of the afternoon and all evening.  Thank goodness we downloaded some movies and I have plenty of books.

I am hoping we can get on the road and visit some of the other centers.  Right now Andrey is doing it and leaving us in charge of the Joshua house.  I am very glad that he is trusting us to get the things done that need to be done.

We still get very confused about the boy's schedules.  It seems like each day they go to school at a different time, or they do not have school at all.  Or, they might decided to not go to school.  We need to have a talk with Alona to figure some of this out.  We never know if they are taking advantage of us or not.  If we know they are supposed to be in school at a certain time, and they ask us to take them to the store, at least we know when to say no.

Bill and I are looking forward to going to the orphanage tomorrow.  We bought some beads because we heard that they like making necklaces and bracelets.  We are also going to take Uno and Phase One (Thank you Terry and Linda).  Apparently they do know how to play both games.  Bill and I are going to have to play tonight because both of us forget how to play Uno and we have never played Phase One.  It should be a good day.

We still need to figure out something fun to do with the family on Sunday.  I want to figure out fun things to do that don't cost a lot of money.  We could probably go sledding using plastic bags if the snow stays and we can find a small hill.  Who knows.... we will keep thinking.

Well that's all for now.

Hugs and Blessings

Karen and Bill