This is goodbye...

We left the house on Monday with all in high spirits.  We knew that we still had the day together.  We drove to Minneapolis, checked into our hotel and headed to the Mall of America to grab some dinner.  We took them to the Rainforest Café but something about the smell in the restaurant really offended both of them.  I think they got used to it and both got a huge Chicken dinner for their last American meal here with us.  We then walked around the mall and the girls were amazed, I know they really wanted to shop... but of course, who wouldn't want to shop at MOA?  We wanted to show them LEGOLAND and they were amazed, but they were really excited when they saw the roller coasters.  With it already being fairly late in the evening, we decided to just pay for one roller coaster...and it was a blast.  What a great experience, I'm sure they have never done that before.  The girls and Josie and I went on a great coaster and we screamed the whole way!  It was a blast!
We then headed back to the hotel to do some swimming with the other host families from Wausau.  It was a great, relaxing time for all the kids to just have a little fun and forget about what tomorrow would bring. 

We had to all get up at 430am, to get to the airport in time, it was an early morning.  But in typical fashion they girls got up and started a pillow fight with Randy.  It was quite funny and just reminded us of how delicate, loving and playful they both are!  We finally got everyone dressed and ready to head out the door.  Both girls kept pointing at us and saying home.  I know they did not want to leave us, nor did we want to let them go...

























Arrival at the airport was not stress free.  We learned that the international flight had a baggage limit of 44lbs...ugh!  how do we tell them they have to remove 6 more lbs and leave it with us.  Both girls were mad and Randy and I had to finally just start taking things out.  :(

 
After getting checked in we had about 25 minutes to just wait and hug the girls.  There were tears from most of the families and Randy and I just back and forth between the girls, hugging and reassuring they that we loved them!  It was heart breaking to watch their tears fall.

As we watched them go through security, they had a few smiles and waves to share with us.  But this was not consoling the hearts of our little Jacob and Josie...they were just sobbing their little hearts out.  They were quickly typing out messages on their ipod and translating them to Ukrainian and holding them up to the glass windows for the girls to read.  I'm not sure what Jacob typed in his but the girls were blowing kisses and waving.  Josie was typing, " I love you and I will miss you, Goodbye" while sobbing and sobbing and waving.  It was easier to focus my attention on the heartbreak of all my kids than to focus on my aching heart. Jacob later told me, "this is the saddest day EVER!"

As they cleared security, they turned and waved one last time with a smile on their faces...

I have to admit, I've been very sick since the girls left with a sinus infection but I just couldn't bring myself to finish the blog until today.  I did go up and fold up some of the clothes they left behind but have been mostly avoiding their room.  It just feels like an odd void and something is missing and sad...


We can praise the Lord for their experience here and the blessing they have brought to our family.  We can pray that they are spreading the love with their friends through their excitement of their experience.  And we can know in our hearts that God has a plan!

Though this was goodbye, I have a feeling this was not the end...stay tuned!

If you have a little space in your home and heart to host an orphan, I encourage to not think too hard but to do what God is calling you to do...you'll never regret it. 
Visit: www.newhorizonsforchildren.org
Many of these children are ready to be adopted, if you could be their forever family or know someone that could, please contact me or New Horizons.  God bless!

Our last few days...

Our last few days with the girls were filled with joy, fun, grandparents, tears, laughter, fear, and love! 
The girls were so excited to have Grandma and Papa come back to visit before they left.  They were counting the days until they arrived and swarmed them with hugs when they walked in the door.  I know they would have really like to see some more of the extended family again before leaving but the distance just didn't allow it to work out. 
We took them skating for the first time...it was hilarious.  I actually think Valya may have skated once before.  She did fairly well from the beginning but Roxy was very unstable. Randy and I had to take turns holding her up.  Other than the skates hurting their ankles, they had a great time and didn't want to leave when it closed.  Randy and I were exhausted and ready to go... :)

 

 

 Packing up was emotionally exhausting...the girls cried and laughed and kept talking to each other in Ukrainian.  Then would burst out in tears and then next minute be laughing.  We weren't sure what was going on but we laughed and cried right along with them.  It was hard for them to separate what they wanted to keep and what they wanted to leave here.  They more than enough to fill their two large suitcases and two backpacks, so we had to help them downsize.  The weight limit was another challenge.  We finally weighed the bags after packing and repacking and they were to heavy.  Disappointed, the girls had to leave more of their things here to get to the 50 lbs.  It was very hard for them!

 

The night before we had to leave for Minneapolis, we were able to take some great photos.  We had been printing photos for the girls all along and adding them to a photo album for the girls to take with them.  Hopefully when I send these of our family all together, the girls will receive them.  I have been told that getting mail to the orphanage is not always so reliable. 
These girls have captured our hearts, and I know letting them go at the airport is not going to be easy.

The chance to be normal...

With the kids back in school and the Holidays over, it's been great being able to just hang out with the girls.  With the chance to just act 'normal', you can really see their personalities shine through.  We have been able to just talk more about where they live, what they think about their future and share stories. 
Roxy asks me the other day if we would host them again in summer.  I had to say, 'I don't know', she seemed a little disappointed.  There are certain rules about hosting a 2nd time/plans for adoption. With our future with the girls being unclear at this point, I don't want to make any promises I can't keep.
 
With the last week quickly passing us by, I can feel the change in my heart for these girls.  I don't want to let them go.  They deserve so much more that what they will be provided in Ukraine. 
On a lighter note, we have definitely gotten a taste of what it is like to parent emotional teenage girls.  There is crying and pouting for no reason, bickering between sibling (which we can't intervene because we have no idea what they are fighting about).  It's been an interesting week to say the least.  The girls are definitely trying to challenge our authority, but we are told that this is a good thing.  They act no different than any of our other children now.  I say that with love for all of them!  :)
New Horizons has the host families and kids pick a bible verse and write it on cardboard.  They are called cardboard promises.  All the host families send them in and the organization makes a video...it is beautiful.  I have included the pictures of the girls with the verses they picked out!

Girls, I have hope too!  I love you both!!  Two more days to enjoy your beautiful personalities!  It's just too short...

January 12th's devotional in 'Jesus Calling' by Sarah Young.

"LET ME PREPARE YOU for the day that stretches out before you. I know exactly what this day will contain, whereas you have only vague ideas about it. You would like to see a map, showing all the twists and turns of your journey. You’d feel more prepared if you could somehow visualize what is on the road ahead. However, there is a better way to be prepared for whatever you will encounter today: Spend quality time with Me.

I will not show you what is on the road ahead, but I will thoroughly equip you for the journey. My living Presence is your Companion each step of the way. Stay in continual communication with Me, whispering My Name whenever you need to redirect your thoughts. Thus, you can walk through this day with your focus on Me. My abiding Presence is the best road map available."

"Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief." Proverbs 14:13.  This verse will be speaking to my heart on Tuesday.

Chatting with the girls

Yesterday I was able to spend the afternoon trying to communicate with the girls about their living conditions.  It sounds like they have a 30 room 'dormitory,' with 2-4 girls in each room. It appears to be pretty chaotic there with only 2 adults in charge of all these girls.  They said that many of the girls run around and change rooms often. 
I don't think they have any way of locking up their belongings and that most of the items eventually end up being shared by anyone that wants/needs them.  It's a little hard to swallow that the girls won't be able to keep all the things we have given them but I know that it will go to someone that needs it.  This year is Roxy's last year of high school and then she will be moving on to a tech-like school where the government funds them with stipends to pay for living expenses.  I can't imagine it is very much money but when I asked Roxy about it, she seemed comfortable moving on from the orphanage or boarding school as they call it. 
The translation can be humorous at time.  When I was asking about their roommates, and if they liked them.  I'm pretty sure it translated into do you "like" them?  The girls were rolling on the floor laughing about it.  So I quickly rephrased it to say something different, as in, "do you enjoy their company?"
It was a fun afternoon getting to know more about them and feeling another connection with the girls.  It's surprising to me that they don't seem scared about their living conditions or what is next for them.  I guess they just don't know any different but I don't know any 16 year old that I would willing send out into the world to find their way.  Reality is so harsh! 

Picture of the girls playing with playdoh while Jacob and Josie were at school.  And all the kids reading together.  Randy found some books online in Ukrainian.  We got Valya the first Harry Potter and she is loving it.  Roxy got Hunger Games and was very excited!

New experiences...

Did I mention slowing down in my last post? ...we'll I guess if you know the Gehrke's, slowing down is really not in our vocabulary!  We had two short days to recover and then decided to head down to WI Dells for the weekend with Randy's best friend Jason, his wife and two kids for the weekend.  The kids loved every moment of going to the hotel, the fun of the water park, the ropes course, the arcade and even the Packer game... Well, maybe that was more the adults.  On Saturday we packed and drove down early to get to the Wilderness by noon.  We reserved a 3 bedroom condo with full kitchen, it was great!  On the way we planned to eat when we got to the hotel but I don't think Randy could wait any longer.  We did it...we took the girls to their first McDonalds trip ever!  We ordered a variety of items... hamburgers, chicken selects, fries, coke (I know they love Coca-Cola!), chicken wraps.... they looked at us like we were crazy but they seemed to like it. 

Between Sat and Sun we spent about 10 hours in the 3 waterparks.  The girls really loved the wave pool and the huge waterslides.  It was so fun to take the 4 kids down all the BIG tube slides.  Before we left today we went to the arcade/play area.  We let the kids go on the ropes course, and they loved it.  Although I think they were exhausted, hungry and thirsty by the end of the 30 minutes since they had spent the whole day visiting the 3 different waterparks.  We arrived home tonight about 7pm.  It was a great day. 

 We are definitely getting to experience the real side of teenage girls.  They tend to get moody when they don't get their way or don't like what Mama or Tato (dad) is telling them.  Hmmm, I don't think I was ever like that?  They have started pouting during these challenging times, good thing it doesn't bother Randy and I.  We just wait it out until they are ready to start participating with the family again.  It's just one of those things that goes along with teenagers, at least that's what I assume since this is my first experience parenting them.  I do feel bad when one of them is crying though.  Since we can't speak their language it's hard to tell if they are just being stubborn or really are needing something from us.  So we just parent with love as we would with any of our other children and pray it works!

 

 

The days seem to be running short on us.  By next week Tuesday we will be heading to Minneapolis to get the girls to their flights early on Wednesday.  They are definitely changing our lives.  We laughed as we talked about them the other night...they just dropped into our lives 5 1/2 weeks ago and now we're not sure we want to send them back, it feels like their home is here.  God is Great, but maybe crazy too?  We're not sure of His plan but we haven't been sure of His plans for the last 4 years and He continues to bless our socks off every day!

Whew...what a celebration!

Whew... what a ride!  The Holidays were wonderful!  Full of family, friends, fun, travel, sledding, swimming, more family, more family and more family. Luckily, we like them!  :) The last 7 days were a great way to celebrate the reason for Christmas and the many blessings we receive from the Lord!

Following our Christmas celebration at my parents house, we went to my sisters house for two days.  They have a hot tub and the girls and all the nieces and nephews had a blast swimming around while the air temperature was around 15 degrees. 
We also went evening sledding with my sister and brother and their families...this could have been a disaster since there wasn't very much snow in Grafton and the snow that was on the hill was mostly ice.  But no matter how many injuries we all sustained, we laughed the whole way through.  There were air borne moments as we flew  over the ice bump created in the middle of the hill (and I mean flew, as in up off of the earth to come crashing back as if someone threw us back at the hill), there were moments in the trees when the sleds were out of control and more that one person ended up with a face full of tree branches, and the collisions could have been deadly but we had a blast laughing every time some flew over that bump or crashed at the bottom.  Luckily we were the only ones on the hill.
After sledding we took the girls to their first restaurant here in America....it was Mexican....so Randy felt right at home speaking Spanish to the girls again! 

We finally made our way back from Grafton with a cool 24 hours to unpack, clean the house, prep food, shop for food in preparation for Randy's 3 brothers and their families to arrive to celebrate with the Gehrke's for 3 nights.  It has become a tradition to host the whole Gehrke clan over New Year's since we do not get to see each other on Christmas...a cherished time for all of us...all 15 of us!  We were able to spend some fun times at the YMCA playing full court basketball, soccer and volleyball.  Then we headed to the local sledding hill with more success than in Grafton.  My sister and brother were all at my parents cabin (only an hour from Wausau) and were able to come for the day to enjoy the sledding, the activities, the Packer game and dinner.  It was a great day but Roxy and Valya took it fairly hard when they had to say good bye to my sister and brother and families....I'm not sure if they knew it would be the last time they would see them but it was pretty difficult.  Their little hearts have experienced so much loss already and my heart was breaking for their sadness.

 New Year's Eve we did our traditional bowling night with the whole gang.  I think this was the first time the girls ever bowled, once we got the bumpers up for them, they had a blast!  They were so excited in the last game, they both broke 100!  We were all cheering with lots of high 5's!

We are looking forward to settling back into our routine with the kids going back to school tomorrow.  I'm going to have to figure out what to do with the girls everyday now that we're not celebrating, shopping, traveling or hosting guests. 
We have 15 more days with the girls and I hope that we can use each one to show them the Grace of God and the love of family!