We had been waiting for this moment for 2 years and 4 months. We were finally going to touch American soil with our whole family, all 4 of us! We got our luggage and proceeded through the doors to see Nana and Grandpa waiting for us! It was a great moment. Nikita wasn't shy, like I thought he might be. He jumped right into sharing all of his thoughts with Grandpa and pointing out every airplane in and around the O'hare airport. :)
Just moments after the hellos and hugs ended, we learned that Leah, Jamie's daughter had the chicken pox. Well, I guess life wouldn't be our life without a few struggles. :) We didn't really care, though. We were here.
Many people have asked how we feel, what are we doing, what are our plans?
Well, we feel good, bad and in between. We are excited that Nikita has already learned how to ride his new bike, that we get to spend so much great time with Nana, Grandpa, Jamie and her girls. We are so grateful for a wonderful room to put our stuff and the chance to eat Doritos with Mt. Dew whenever we want! :)
We are also so excited to be able to get more involved in our church here and meet some new people. We have been gone for a while, so a lot has changed. We've already attended a Kids' Day Out event, which was super fun.
We feel sad as well. I mean, it's hard to come back here and not see Eric. He has left these wonderful little girls that give us a lot of joy. It's hard that he's not here to enjoy them as well, though. It's hard that our sons won't get a chance to meet him. Life is moving, though, and God is still God, so we are moving forward too.
The in between feelings come from the unknowns. Moving from Ukraine back to the States for a while, changing organizations and cultures makes life interesting and confusing at times. God is showing us the answers to our questions little by little. We are doing our best to trust Him until the next answer is revealed.
What's the general plan? We are hoping to be in the States until January. We have to wait for some documents for Nikita, so that might change the plan, but the current plan is to return to Ukraine in January. We are going to be doing some fundraising, training and traveling for the next few months, visiting family, friends and ministry partners. After that, we will probably be more based in Iowa City as we figure things out with documents and work from here.
We are so grateful for all the ways God is blessing us everyday!!! He is truly the best reason to wake up each morning!!!
Just moments after the hellos and hugs ended, we learned that Leah, Jamie's daughter had the chicken pox. Well, I guess life wouldn't be our life without a few struggles. :) We didn't really care, though. We were here.
Many people have asked how we feel, what are we doing, what are our plans?
Well, we feel good, bad and in between. We are excited that Nikita has already learned how to ride his new bike, that we get to spend so much great time with Nana, Grandpa, Jamie and her girls. We are so grateful for a wonderful room to put our stuff and the chance to eat Doritos with Mt. Dew whenever we want! :)
We are also so excited to be able to get more involved in our church here and meet some new people. We have been gone for a while, so a lot has changed. We've already attended a Kids' Day Out event, which was super fun.
We feel sad as well. I mean, it's hard to come back here and not see Eric. He has left these wonderful little girls that give us a lot of joy. It's hard that he's not here to enjoy them as well, though. It's hard that our sons won't get a chance to meet him. Life is moving, though, and God is still God, so we are moving forward too.
The in between feelings come from the unknowns. Moving from Ukraine back to the States for a while, changing organizations and cultures makes life interesting and confusing at times. God is showing us the answers to our questions little by little. We are doing our best to trust Him until the next answer is revealed.
What's the general plan? We are hoping to be in the States until January. We have to wait for some documents for Nikita, so that might change the plan, but the current plan is to return to Ukraine in January. We are going to be doing some fundraising, training and traveling for the next few months, visiting family, friends and ministry partners. After that, we will probably be more based in Iowa City as we figure things out with documents and work from here.
We are so grateful for all the ways God is blessing us everyday!!! He is truly the best reason to wake up each morning!!!
