Up North at the Lake

When we left Grafton, we decided since it was the holiday week, we would head to my parents lake house for the rest of week.  There's swimming, s'mores, trampoline, campfires, zipline, kayaking, the farm, fishing, frog hunting and the Yerf Dog, plus more time to spend with Gramma and Papa. 

  The zipline was fun but "scary!!"  They went over and over!

The lake house was a really fun week.  It was a relaxing time for all of us and since we all sleep in very close quarters, it was a bonding week for us too.  :)   The girls got to really experience what it's like to be with a family again. 
The kids played, we gave Valya some confidence by assisting her in jumping off the diving board, and I think Roxy got her first experience with driving too. 

The Yerf Dog...wheeee!

 

 There is an awesome farmer down the street from my parents lake house and he invites us to come by any time were up north.  My mom took the girls and Valya got to see the cows, the kitty's, the chickens and the farm dog.  She really had a good time.  I assume they are used to seeing farm since they are located in a fairly remote area but who knows.

 Swimming with Papa....

 

When we finally headed back home on Saturday, the girls were so happy to go home.  I think they loved every minute of the last week but were ready to get back to their own beds and our house.
They have been here 10 days and we have only been at our house for 3 1/2 of those. 

The girls seem to have settled back into our family like they never left.  It's a heart warming feeling to have them here with us again. 

Monday July 1 - Parties, Fireworks, Roller Coasters and Family

After arriving on Wed, the girls had a day and a half to recover before we headed 2 hours up north to pick up Jacob.  The girls were so excited and Jacob did not know when they would arrive, so he was surprised.  He was so excited to see them again and now we were all officially together again. 

The girls arrived just in time to head down to see my extended family on Saturday (about a 3 hour drive).  They formed quite the relationship with my sister and brother's family and Gramma and Papa.  So we headed down for a 4th of July party, fireworks and another family party on Sunday. 





They were reunited with many family members and there were plenty of activities to keep them busy.  They stayed up late to watch lots of big fireworks both from the city and my brother in law and his friends.  They really thought it was cool!  It gave them plenty of reasons to snuggle with Gramma, Niki, and some Aunties. 








On Monday we headed down to IL to take them to Six Flags Great America.  We had taken them on a small coaster at the Mall of America before them flew back to Ukraine last time and they just loved it.  It was a thrilling day with lots of roller coasters and fun.  They really enjoyed it but by Tuesday we had worn them out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!