Special Visitors!

Hi!  Wow, it’s been quiet around here!  BUT, for good reason.  Grams and Papi (my parents) are here visiting!  YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!!!  So, I’d apologize for the lack of blogging, but I’m sure you all understand.  The last thing I want to do when I have my family here is sit down at the computer.  HA!  There’s so much to show them, so many people for them to meet, so many foods to try, so many Seinfeld episodes to watch together….time is precious.  But, they’re still sleeping this morning, so I thought I should take the time to share about their visit so far.

Grams and Papi arrived last Sunday evening and they had a BIG surprise in store for our kids.  They brought along our 10-year-old nephew Isaiah!  Oh man, I can’t even tell you how many times we almost blew their secret.  But, we somehow managed to keep our mouths shut and when they walked out of baggage claim with Isaiah in tow the kids freaked out appropriately.  They have been having a BLAST with their cousin.  Addy and Isaiah are just a few months apart in age and have always been close.  So, this was just about the best surprise our kids could have gotten.

Here we are at the airport for pick-up. Addy must have jumped up and down continuously for about 20 minutes when she saw Isaiah. 🙂

Catching up on long-lost Lego play

So far we’ve taken them all over Zhytomyr, and yesterday we spent the day in Kyiv.  My dad has all the Kyiv pics, so I can share those later.  I can’t even tell you how much it means to us to be able to take them around our new home.  Now they can picture the people and places we talk about when we Skype.  Now they understand our life a bit and it just makes all of us feel better.  🙂

Isaiah has done so great here!  What an awesome traveler!  He’s tried all the food, walked many miles, and even learned a few words in Ukrainian.  He’s been a bit homesick the last couple of days, but that’s not bad for a 10-year-old being so far from home.

Ezra is so special…

We had smoothies at our favorite little cafe

My eyes disappear when I’m really happy 😉

This was probably my favorite day. We took them to our bazaar and we just had a great day. My dad took pictures of blushing Babushkas. Lots of laughs.

We went to the local park with a few rides. The kids couldn’t wait to show Grams the rides since they knew she loved Disneyland. Hahaha! Not quite Disneyland…but still fun. 🙂

Can you tell Ezra’s been watching The Sandlot?

This picture was taken after church on Sunday. Aren’t they cute?

Approximately four minutes after that last photo we were caught in a TORRENTIAL downpour. You can either laugh or cry…right?

 The highlight of the visit so far, for me, is last Friday.  My parents got to come to Romaniv with me.  I’ve been wishing and waiting for that moment since we first visited Romaniv in 2012.  This is the reason we are here.  It is so important to me that my family really “gets it”.  They have always been supportive of our move.  Although they are sad we live so far away, they never told us no.  They knew this was what God had for us, but that doesn’t make it easy to have your kids all the way across the world.  

I needed them to see the faces and hug the bodies of the ones we came here to serve.  I needed them to see why with their own eyes.  So, Friday was my dream come true.  

Friday was also Addy’s first time to come help on the team.  She did great!  She has really taken ownership of the work at Romaniv.  She has memorized the names of the boys and listens when we describe their personalities and needs.  She has been begging to come help this summer, and the Directors said it was fine.  How special that she got to go with Grams and Papi!

Isaiah and my dad leave on Friday and my mom stays for ten more days.  I’m trying to treasure every moment without thinking too much about the fact that they leave so soon.

Could you pray with us?  Although we’ve had a great time, both of my parents have been sick on this trip.  🙁  My dad got a bad head cold that seems to be improving, but he still has a lingering cough.  Ukraine has not been kind to my mom’s stomach.  Yesterday in Kyiv she was pretty miserable and today she seems even worse.  It’s such a bummer!  I really want them to be well so we can enjoy these last couple of days to the fullest.  Thanks for your prayers!

Anyway, I just can’t say enough about how much it means to have visitors here.  I know it’s expensive to get here and not exactly a vacation locale, but it blesses us SO MUCH when people come and see our new world.  We have had the best time.  I don’t want it to be over!!!!  🙂