Home.

We have been home for a month now. They say the first month is the hardest. I sure hope so. God has definitely increased our fortitude, patience, mercy and grace toward all our children. Sometimes it has been hard to laugh or even to love. Every night we have gone to bed completely exhausted. I normally have a really hard time getting to sleep, but I have slept easily and completely this past month. Rick normally falls asleep the instant his head hits his pillow. I think lately, it's more like the instant his head starts reclining towards the pillow...by the time his head hits it, he's already long gone.

Yes, we've had a lot of ups and downs. We've had times of laughter and tears, discipline and grace, joy and anger. Trust has been gained and then lost. Times of anger have turned into times of joy; times of joy into times of tears; and times of tears into times of love. Decisions we made long ago have been altered, and many of the hopes we had have disappeared. But where old hopes have diminished, new hopes have formed, and we press on for the sake of God's glory. For what else do we have in this life, but for God? "For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?" 2 Samuel 22:32

Language seems to be the largest barrier at this point. The fact that the boys have each other to speak to is definitely impeding their English-speaking abilities. Because Bodie has a swearing problem, we have had to take their language away at points. Taras doesn't seem to mind, but Bodie has a difficult time speaking only English. We just ate dinner with a couple the other night who adopted four children from Ukraine (3 separate adoptions), and who only allowed them to speak Russian and/or Ukrainian on Sundays. We liked that idea. For those who don't understand, this may sound cruel, but actually it is loving. Communication is critical right now, in ways hard to even explain or imagine, but the faster they learn our language, the sooner we will be able to love them fully.

Although we had intended to home school all four children, after a trial week we made the difficult decision to send Bodie and Taras to school. We really felt like this was the right thing to do. We are so glad we did, and we can totally see God's hand in it. They are making friends with other children their age and they were placed with teachers who really love them. And, their English improves by leaps and bounds every day. We couldn't be more pleased. We aren't sure how long they will be in school, but for now we are at peace.

Please continue to pray for us. This is a huge transition for our family, and will be for a long time to come. Taras and Bodie have a lot of history to overcome with our help and the healing hand of God. We are thankful for the provision God has already provided and for that which is still to come.