Do Everything

HUGE Praise to start off the week.  There are a few things we are supposed to do for V*ktor while he is here. One is to arrange a dental visit.  When we told him about V*ktor, our dentist immediately volunteered to take care of his dental care when he is here. So, I even have his appointment scheduled for that :)  Cross one thing off the list!

I thought I might do a little Q&A here for frequently asked questions I get from people.

Will he speak English?   No, V*ktor does not speak any English. I've heard that "Google Translate" is a great feature that we will use a lot. Charades will be popular around here for a while. If all else fails, we can skype my cousin or call the translator with New Horizons at any time.  In all seriousness, though, V*ktor will be able to learn more English just by immersion in 5 weeks with us than he would in 4-5 semesters at school.  This will be HUGE for him as a skill when he looks for a job one day.

What will he need here?  Everything. He will arrive with the clothes on his back. We will need to get clothes, shoes, and any personal care items. We also want to get him books and a Ukraine/English Bible. A friend has offered use of her bike while he's here, so we'll just need to get a helmet for him to use.  In his country, some people have a negative view on Americans. Some believe that when they get here, the kids will get "sold for their bodyparts."  As horrible as that thought is, even worse is that some caregivers may say that to the kids. For that reason, we do not know his size - if our hosting program started asking that type of questions of the kids it somehow could perpetuate the wrong idea :(  From his picture and what we've heard, I'm guessing (hoping) that he will be A's size and they can just share clothes.  Otherwise, we'll figure it out!

Do you have any training for this?  I (along with baby C) am flying to Denver one Saturday for an all day training. It will be a long day, but I'm sure well worth it. I will get to meet older kids who went through the hosting program, talk to other families who are hosting, and learn a LOT about what to expect.    We will also have a safety visit done by a contracted social worker at our house sometime soon.

How will you ever let him go at the end?  Sorry, don't have an answer to that one. We are just answering God's call to do this and trusting in the rest.  I'm not thinking about that day!!!

What do your kids think?   A thinks 5 weeks is not long enough. He is so excited to have another boy around here!  He was asking what language V*ktor spoke and seemed to be having trouble with something. We realized that he was trying to add V*ktor as a player on the DS and wanted to select his language. So sweet. Unfortunately, Ukrainian is not a language on the DS!  B talks about V*ktor coming to stay with us, but she doesn't really have concept of time so it's hard to know if she realizes it's more than just for a day to play or something.

That's all I have for now :)  If you have other things you want me to answer, just let me know!

The "Do Everything" title is what I felt like today!  B had 2 potty accidents, A broke a glass all over the kitchen floor, B cut her foot on the piece I missed, the dog got out and we couldn't find her, I felt like I worked all day and the house looked the same, etc...

"You're picking up toys on the living room floorfor the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We'll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you
Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do"