Hosting D is going well. Really well. We heard he was a good kid before we hosted him, but he is absolutely amazing. Perfect? No. By no means. But he is obedient and willing to try, even if it is something he isn't so sure of. It took about a week for us to really get to see a genuine smile, or hear a true belly laugh. But I believe he is truly comfortable now. We get into some giant tickle wars including the WHOLE family, and he has begun showing affection to the younger kids, especially Gabe. If he fusses the least bit, D swoops to his rescue. Yesterday Jac was crying because she was hurt, and he began patting her on the head to comfort her.

However, we are exhausted. Between holidays and work, family time and hosting, it is very stretching in every capacity. This morning I described hosting as like being a newlywed--you are very aware of the dynamic of a new person no matter what you are doing. You are learning their likes and dislikes, what makes them tick, etc. It is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. But it's worth it. It is SO worth it.

Christmas was absolutely perfect. I was afraid D would be too overwhelmed, and would shut down emotionally. But he did the opposite. Christmas Eve we hosted one side of the family at our house, and I told D ahead of time that if it was too much, he was allowed to "hide out" in either his room or mine, but that I wanted him to at least get some food. To my surprise, he stayed the WHOLE time, participated in our "gift game" (and even got the best number!) and smiled and bonded with a few of my extended family. Chris did an excellent job of staying near him and interacting with him a lot too. Then Wednesday we had Christmas with my parents and brother, and we had to wake all four of the bigger kids up!! I am so thankful that we keep our Christmas small! Each child gets three gifts and their stocking (plus whatever gifts the grandparents and aunts and uncles give). The big boys each received a detailed Lego set. Once we'd opened presents and eaten breakfast, D disappeared. I found him on his bed, intently doing his Legos. He looked up at me and absolutely BEAMED. I think it was a turning point, because we have all received a few of those now. And he referred to Grandma as Babushka and me as Mama once this week. I think we've passed the rhetorical "test."

What have we gotten ourselves into?

Stoic. That was my first impression of this creature whom they told me was a child, but came to me with the weight of a grown man on his small yet broad frame. Dressed in black from head to toe, his face revealed nothing. He nodded curtly at our introductions but didn't say much other than to repeat our names. With arms full of baby and baby gear I dropped something, but before I had a chance to pick it up, D swooped down and grabbed it. It was my first glimpse into the gentle heart I'd been told I'd find. The ride home was quiet--since we are a family of eight for the next month, we cannot all fit in one vehicle. Jacki, Gabe, D and I rode in the van and Christopher, Nick and Grandma rode with Dad. I tried to make a little conversation with D to help him relax a little and frankly I wondered what I'd gotten myself into. It didn't appear he knew as much English as I had thought. He showed very little emotion or interest until a) I began singing Christmas carols along with the radio and b) we crossed over the toll bridge over the Port of Houston. He was absolutely exhausted, as well he should have been. As though the flight from Eastern Europe wasn't long enough, the group of orphans and their chaperones were held up in customs for hours due to a "technical difficulty" which then led to multiple missed flights, including D's.

We have spent the last few days hanging out and getting to know each other. I was surprised that D wanted to go to church Wednesday night. He was quiet but observant. I kept him with me and we watched the Children's Choir sing at the nursing home. I didn't think he was quite ready to experience the youth group's "Redneck Christmas." I didn't want that to be his first impression of Texans, haha! We went shopping that night and got him a few clothes, and then yesterday his time was monopolized by the Littles, who ADORE him, of course! He is SO patient with them.

Today's big adventure was the dentist. D was a trooper and the dentist was very impressed with D's dental hygiene.

Please continue to pray for us. Pray that we would get quality rest, and that Dima truly feels at home here. Pray that we can show him love in the exact ways he needs it.

D-Day

In less than 20 hours we are scheduled to meet our precious D. So many emotions right now, but two battle for first place. Excitement, and fear. Fear, you may ask? Fear. Fear that he will not like us. Fear that we will disappoint him. Fear that I won't remember all of the rules and obligations of hosting. Fear that the negative of our human sides will outweigh the positive in his eyes. We have had one somewhat negative experience with hosting, and I guess overall I am fearful of rejection. I haven't even met our sweet D and I love him so much already.

As a host family, NHFC encourages us to find up to/at least 10 prayer partners who will be dedicated to praying for us during this time. If this is something you would like to do, please contact me so that I can keep you updated with specific prayer requests. :)

I'd better get some sleep! Grandma arrives at 3:30 pm and then we are scheduled to arrive at the other airport by 7:15 pm to pick up D. I can't believe it's already here!!!!

Pasta la Pizza, Baby!

Counting the Days!

Time is absolutely flying by. Remember when you were a kid and December DRAGGED on and on, and that number 25 seemed so inevitable? Even last year it did a bit, because of my excitement for my kiddos. Not this year! Tomorrow marks only ONE week until D's arrival, and we have so much yet to do! Today I am cleaning house like a mad woman in effort to prepare for a New Horizons For Children (NHFC) affiliated person to check our house for safety before he comes. We will also need to go to the grocery store and stock up on food that we have heard he likes (and we learned at our training this weekend that most of the kids LOVE ketchup and put it on EVERYTHING--so if you see us at a church or family gathering and he's putting ketchup on his chocolate cake...don't be too surprised). We also will be making a welcome sign to hold up at the airport, getting his bed ready, and more. And did I mention that Chris' Mom will be visiting us at the same time? And that I am hosting Bunco at my house the day before they are to arrive? Woohoo...our house will be party central this December!

Please continue to pray for D, and for ALL of the kids being hosted, and for the families hosting as well. I am told that this is a very tiring time, like having a newborn baby. Not that I would know anything about that. ;)

NHFC is also needing a host family for a chaperone in the Houston area. There are no fees to pay, but you would be expected to provide food and entertainment and some transportation. I am told that this particular chaperone, a 57 year old Ukranian lady, is a delight to be around and that the family who hosted her last time is very disappointed she will not be coming this time (they live in another area). If you are interested please let me know ASAP so I can get you in contact with the right people!

Specific ways you can help:

1. PRAY.
2. PRAY.
3. PRAY.
4. Provide child care for the younger kids once in awhile so that we can focus on D and Christopher a bit/do older activities with them.
5. D will need a Russian Bible on his level (he is 15).
6. Provide a WARM coat for D to take back in a size mens small
7. Provide a new or gently used MP3 player with a value of under $35 (this is especially important. It can NOT be Apple no matter HOW old).
8. Provide a new or gently used, good quality back pack for D.
9. PRAY.
10. PRAY.
11. PRAY.

Living the Dream

The only girl out of four children, it was my childhood dream to have four children of my own--two boys and two girls. Obviously I have no control over the gender of my children, and little did I realize that by today's standards this would be considered a BIG family. And now that we--my husband Chris and I--have those four beautiful, blonde headed children (three boys and a girl!), people seem to be shocked that we want more. I can't begin to tell you the number of times I have been asked, "Are you done now?"
"Have you figured out what causes that yet?"
"This is it....right?"
To be honest, I'm a bit shocked myself. Ten years ago, if you had told me we would be "that" family I would have thought you were crazy. My dream was a pretty, neat little package all tied up with a bow. But first of all, children are not neat. They are messy. They are impetuous. At times, they are embarrassing. Second of all, the Lord is calling us to big things. Unexpected things. Uncomfortable things. Not little. And tied up with a bow? Ha! If only it were so easy! But Proverbs 3:5-6 says,  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

We don't quite understand why God has chosen this particular path for us.  Chris has a quick temper. I am very unorganized. We are not perfect parents (wearing your shocked face yet?!). Yet we have been given big hearts, LOTS of grace, and individually and as a couple we feel God calling us to literally keep His command to "look after orphans and widows in their distress" (James 1:27). We joke about needing to buy a school bus or an Econoline Van in order to hold all of our children. And someday, we just might. Here is the thing. We have committed to following the Lord. The thought of driving a big ugly van is not particularly exciting. It certainly isn't the "cool" or the "chic" thing to do, and we often have to face our pride and to "choose this day whom [we] will serve" (Joshua 24:15). Because sometimes, it is a daily choice. Here is a prime example.

This winter we will be hosting a fifteen year old orphan from Eastern Europe. "D" will be here for a month. I have followed New Horizons for Children (NHFC) on Facebook for about a year now, along with a couple of other agencies who specialize in the care of orphans and other child related needs. I am constantly inundated with their pictures and stories, yet D's picture and mini biography grabbed me. I halfheartedly emailed his profile to Chris, knowing that even with D's fees being over halfway covered via a scholarship, we could not afford to host him. And even if we could, there was no way we would have time to raise the rest of the money--there were only 36 hours left to commit--and less than two weeks to raise the money! But I could not get him off my mind. I began praying that God would provide for this child, whether through us or someone else. I prayed God would put him with the right family. That night sleep eluded me. I tossed and turned for hours, but suddenly it hit me. How could I just give up on D when I hadn't even TRIED to come up with the money. So at 4 am I posted a plea for help on Facebook. I just knew my expanse of family and friends would answer my call. I went to bed thrilled at what the new day would bring, what God would do. When I woke up later that morning, a couple of friends mentioned helping which brought hope. But that was it. Nobody else. I shared my post a few more times. I began to feel frustrated with the lack of response, and Chris was frustrated with me for posting it in the first place. I took the post down and reluctantly told NHFC we would not be able to commit this time. I began reminding myself of all of my Christmas plans and what we could do with all of the money we would save--bringing D here would use all of our "extra" Christmas money, not to mention I didn't know WHERE the rest of the money would come from! Along with his scholarship we would be responsible for paying for background checks, all of his food and toiletries, entertainment, Christmas presents, possibly an additional surcharge to the airline to get him to Houston, etc. We were already helping with the Angel Tree at church, providing or helping fill multiple Thanksgiving baskets and had committed to a high goal (for us) to the building campaign at church. I had big plans for decorating our big new house, special gifts for friends and family, etc.  I realized that this was just not the right time. I accepted that, and to be honest, I breathed a sigh of relief. But then I got a message from the coordinator I had been working with at NHFC. Was it JUST the money that was holding us back? $125 more had just come in. No, I don't think Chris and I are on the same page. I just don't think it's going to work this time, I told her. An hour later, "$200 just came in!" I asked Chris, "Do you TRULY want to do this, or is it JUST about the money?" He said, "No, I just don't see how we can afford it."  

By the time he came home from work that night, there was less than $1000 left of the nearly $3000 hosting fees left to pay. We had less than two hours until the deadline, and he had less than an hour to leave for Cub Scouts, forcing us to discuss it over dinner and in front of the kids. He said he felt like we needed to do it. I sat down at the computer to let the coordinator know and I looked up at Chris for confirmation one last time, knowing and even struggling with the fact I was going to have to sacrifice a lot if this was our decision. He said yes. I semi tried to talk him out of it once last time, even as my excitement grew. "Are you SURE?"
"Yes."
As I looked down at the screen to type our commitment, the coordinator had just sent me a message--"OMG, AUDREY! $500 more just came in!!!!" With tears in my eyes, I shared the news with Chris. His reply was, "Well THAT'S a yes!"

Friends, our Lord is in the business of miracles. I believe He WANTS to do them, but we have to be willing to accept them and to be used. If not--He'll just find someone else who is, or choose not to allow us to see them.

With that being said, here we are, Lord, send US.

Please pray for D as he makes the long journey here. Pray for peace in a new place, pray for language barriers to be overcome. Pray above all that D will see Jesus in us and come to know him as his personal Lord and Savior, that Jesus will NEVER leave nor forsake him. Pray for the hearts of those in our household that we would show love no matter how it is received or returned.