Notes from Munich

We had a wild, impromptu fling with Istanbul on our way to Ukraine, but we are back with safe, comfortable, reliable Munich for the night.  Despite the never-ending snow in Donetsk, we got to the airport swiftly and our flight left on time.  We are back at the Kempinski Hotel, at the Munich airport. It's always good to be back in the capable hands of the Germans.  The air in Ukraine has a distinctive smell to it; Munich smells sweet in comparison.

So now it's time to temporarily patch my broken heart and mother the four awesome American kids waiting for me at home.  Soon I'll be able to meld these two versions of Mom.

We have some new friends who are adopting a girl from Ukraine. They have three biological kids at home. Mom is having a hard time leaving her new daughter alone in Ukraine as they wait for their court date. I recently told her, "Your heart won't rest until all of your babies are together, but when they are, the overwhelming peace you'll feel will make all the pain worthwhile."  This summer when I had all five of my babies together for the first time, I felt a peace and joy I'd never known.  If you were around me this summer, you know how insanely busy I was, getting all the kids to all the places they needed to go at all hours of the day, plus entertaining Sasha's orphanage director, plus feeding all eight of us and dealing with language issues. It was hard, really hard, but I felt incredibly strong and fulfilled.  Helping Sasha permanently adjust to life in our family here in America will be hard, but it is undeniably God's plan for our lives, and when you are living out God's plan, He will provide.  If He has faith in us to do this, why shouldn't we have faith that He will provide?  He'll provide materially, emotionally, and will guide us through all of the unknowns.  I also know that He will provide peace and wisdom as we venture into these unchartered waters.

I daydream about the moment I can confidently tell Sasha, "You are safe now."  He's waited so long, and it's something I've longed to tell him since the first day I met him, over a year ago.  Soon.  Soon!