They are here!!

After waiting for what felt like an eternity once they landed...they have come back to us!  I'm still not sure if they were aware that it was going to be us at the airport.  They seemed surprised to me and then Roxy started crying. It was amazing to see them again.

We're on our way back to Wausau and the girls seem happy and excited!
And they came with a suitcase...Yeah!  I'm pretty sure they are empty but now we don't need to buy two.
Pray for our time together and feel free to share our blog.

If interested in how you can make the difference in the life of an orphan, please visit New Horizons for Children online.

Almost here....

Today the girls arrive for the 2nd time to bless our family beyond understanding.  They have changed our lives, our hearts, our families and we can only give all credit to the Lord for bringing them to us.  We are so excited as we put the finishing touches on their room and pack the car with snacks for the final part of their journey.  I can't wait to put my arms around them again!

"Lord, bless this journey.  Give us strength and grace to share our love and our home with these children.  Let them feel loved as our own and guide our words and actions to fill their hearts!  Bless those that have given us so much to make this a reality and guide those that continue to pray for us and our girls!"

They are almost here!!!  We';re at the airport!

Summer blessings!

6 months ago our lives were changed forever when God blessed us with the opportunity to bring two orphan girl to America for Christmas...they were amazing kids!
We are so excited to share the news that the girls will be returning this summer to stay with us for 5 weeks!  Since the day they returned to Ukraine, they have remained in our hearts.  We just weren't ready to let them go.  With many prayers and conversations, God has blessed us with the opportunity to host Roxy and Valya once again!
We could have never brought them here the first time without the help, assistance and donations of friends, family and even people we didn't know.  Once again we need your help.  It will take just under $6000 to bring them here, to pay for flights, Visa's, Insurance and other fees associated with hosting.  If you feel so moved once again to help us bring these girls to America, we ask you to prayerfully consider donating to these girls.  They will once again come only with a small backpack.  Last time this contained only one or two changes of clothes. 
For more information, please visit our website at :
www.active.com/donate/ukrainesisterssummer

Other items we will need to make this a memorable experience for the girls:
Gift Cards from:
Old Navy
Kohls
Maurices
Pick N Save
Walmart

Clothes: gently used or new - sizes 13/14 girls, or sizes 1/2, 3/4, 5/6 in Juniors(if new please include a gift receipt for size exchanges)
Sandals/flip flops: size 7 and 8
2 suitcases
Toiletries: toothbrushes, toothpaste, 2 hairbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, feminine products

If you can help with any of these items or are willing to donate to the hosting fees, please visit the donate website,  or email Deanna at randeegerk@yahoo.com, or call at 414-331-7506.

Praise the Lord for all His Blessings!

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!