Yes, we are all home

Howdy friends and neighbors,
I apologize for the cliff-hanger blog. We have been so busy since we got back that I haven't had a chance to look at email or blog. I also didn't realize that so many people were still checking up on us daily.


We received a call last Friday, ( Jan 26) that Nina's visa was ready. There was much rejoicing and praising of God. We looked into switching our tickets to leave Friday, but it wasn't going to be worth it. (It meant about 17 hours in the airport in Amsterdam) So, we stayed in Kiev and had a great time with Galya, one of our facilitators. We even went to the Circus ( think Cirque de Sole meets Ringling Brothers) Friday night. We had a great time! We also had some really great talks about everything under the sun. It is my prayer that some seeds were planted in fertile soil.

Bruce arrived home safely on Friday the 26th. He and Gideon were both none the worse for wear. He was so tired and glad to be home, he cried when he saw all the people at the airport. Bruce, Gideon, and many of our family and friends met Nina and I at the airport on Sunday the 28th. We also had a fairly uneventful trip, except that unlike Bruce and Gideon we did not get a hotel room and we took so long in immigration we were afraid that we would miss our plane. Thankful all our connections were made and we arrived home to a warm welcome and cold weather.

The bad news is that we came home to 2 dead cars. One is now in the shop and Bruce's dad is trying to fix the other. Top that off with the furnace going out on Monday night and we were beginning to think the sky was falling. Thankfully the furnace is now fixed.

The kids are doing well. Nina is a little bored. We have an appointment at the ESL office on Tuesday. I hope to get her started in school as soon as possible. She seems to be in good spirits and adjusting well, better than I had hoped to be honest. We have her room almost finished and she seems very happy with it. We got her a soccer ball 2 days ago and she spends a lot of time outside in the cold kicking it around. If anyone in our area knows of any leagues for girls around 16 we would love to know about them.

Gideon is surviving. (translation -- we haven't killed him yet) As those of you who have done this know it is a difficult transition for him. Nina and I both bear the marks of his angst (me, scratches and bruises, He actually bit Nina and broke the skin today) I think we are making progress though. Today was better than yesterday, yesterday was better than the day before. I hold no fantasies that we are out of the woods. He was used to being able to get whatever he wanted and it is difficult for him to take "no" for an answer. First he tries cute and if that doesn't work he get angry. And then he switched back. It would be funny if I wasn't living with it. Still, God is faithful even when I am not.

I have heard Gideon begin to make some new sounds verbally but he is not consistently repeating them. We will wait to seek speech therapy for him until we get Nina in school.

My Dad was here with us this week which was an invaluable help. He helped get some projects done to set up Nina's room and move my office downstairs. He also was a calming presence for everyone. Both kids are going to miss him now that he is gone. (he left this morning).

Well that is all the news for now. We continue to desperately need your prayers. As with all parents, we do not possess the wisdom and patience for the task ahead of us. I am beginning everyday with a desperate plea for God's help. I will try to keep updating every couple of days at least until we get into the full swing of life.

I cannot express how good it is to be home, and how strange it feels.

Peace,
BLN&G