Language!

Everything in the Wells' home continues to run pretty smoothly. 
I do have to say that the language barrier is HUGE but we are all doing our best to communicate clearly.  If you have never been in a situation where you are surrounded by people who speak another language then it is hard to comprehend how challenging simple everyday things can be, without words.  As I mentioned earlier, we are able to use Google Translate but it is not foolproof and does not catch everything.  We hope to work on some basic vocabulary today by making some flash cards.

Somethings however don't need words and are universal such as Wii Dance...

 

And eating ice cream...

 

And crazy grandpas (Peperes)

 

And Moms trying to get the perfect pic...

 

Not yet...

 

Almost...

 

YES!!!

 

Have a great day and enjoy your words!

Mariana and Katya

I am happy to introduce to you, Mariana and Katya!

After traveling more than 20 plus hours, our girls arrived in Atlanta, Georgia with 27 other children and 2 chaperones.  In spite of the grueling trip, they still had smiles on their faces.  

I ran to them and gave them my long anticipated hug and they giggled quietly as I hung on to them.   

Some of the younger children were overwhelmed by the moment and perhaps a little afraid so Katya helped to comfort them.

 So very sweet!

I have to be honest... 

I have wanted to sit at the computer and share all the details of yesterday and today, all day.  But there are so many thoughts and emotions all jumbled up inside of me that I am finding it difficult to articulate.  So perhaps I will just list a bunch of random thoughts and you can do your best to put the pieces together.

• My heart still aches for the children that flew across the world without a parent to comfort them and calm their fears.
• I felt like I was going to burst with emotion when I first spotted Katya and Mariana coming up the escalator at the airport.
• Despite an hour and a half delay for our flight headed to Orlando the girls stayed cheerful.
• The greeting by the rest of the family in Orlando was AWESOME!
• The language barrier is huge!
• My new best friend is Google Translate.
• It was a late night... the girls slept in til noon time... we are hoping that their bodies will adjust to the 7 hour time change quickly.
• I have heard (via texts, email, phone calls, and facebook) from many of you and soooooooo appreciate the support.
• We did a little shopping today since the girls have so little.
• Attended our first church service altogether tonight.
• We also had some great pool time... with Ty's famous cannonballs that almost empty the pool of it's water.
• There was lots of laughing and screaming by all 6 kids.
• We had a nice family dinner on the back porch.
• Movie night... Tangled
• Bed by 10pm at Katya and Mariana's request.
• House is quiet... except for Ty's snoring.
• Trying to blog... hoping that this will do for now.

Stay Tuned!

Hey guys! I'm posting from Georgia as I wait for the girls to fly into Atlanta later this afternoon. I am staying with a sweet family that is anticipating the arrival of a nine year old boy that they are hosting. The anticipation is killing me :)
There are 29 kids coming over and I'm sure that after 20 - 29 hours of travel they will be exhausted! Please pray for them and pray that customs will go smooth and quickly so that I can get our girls to Florida on time. Hopefully next time I post I will have some great pictures for you.

Something to think about!

"Your daddy is standing in a swimming pool out a little bit from the edge. You are, let’s say, three years old and standing on the edge of the pool. Daddy holds out his arms to you and says, “Jump, I’ll catch you. I promise.” Now, how do you make your daddy look good at that moment? Answer: trust him and jump. Have faith in him and jump. That makes him look strong and wise and loving. But if you won’t jump, if you shake your head and run away from the edge, you make your daddy look bad. It looks like you are saying, “he can’t catch me” or “he won’t catch me” or “it’s not a good idea to do what he tells me to do.” And all three of those make your dad look bad. 

But you don’t want to make God look bad. So you trust him. Then you make him look good–which he really is. And that is what we mean when we say, “Faith glorifies God” or “Faith gives God glory.” It makes him look as good as he really is. So trusting God is really important. 

And the harder it seems for him to fulfill his promise, the better he looks when you trust him. Suppose that you are at the deep end of a pool by the diving board. You are four years old and can’t swim, and your daddy is at the other end of the pool. Suddenly a big, mean dog crawls under the fence and shows his teeth and growls at you and starts coming toward you to bite you. You crawl up on the diving board and walk toward the end to get away from him. The dog puts his front paws up on the diving board. Just then, your daddy sees what’s happening and calls out, “Johnny, jump in the water. I’ll get you.” 

Now, you have never jumped from one meter high and you can’t swim and your daddy is not underneath you and this water is way over your head. How do you make your daddy look good in that moment? You jump. And almost as soon as you hit the water, you feel his hands under your arms and he treads water holding you safely while someone chases the dog away. Then he takes you to the side of the pool. 

We give glory to God when we trust him to do what he has promised to do–especially when all human possibilities are exhausted. Faith glorifies God. That is why God planned for faith to be the way we are justified." 
— John Piper

 

 

Is God calling you to jump in?

Is He asking you to trust Him in something scary?  Something bigger than you?

Take that step... trust Him... HE IS WORTHY!

Be a world changer... today!

 

IMMEASURABLY BLESSED!

 

These are my parents!  I have AWESOME parents.  But today I am focusing on my Dad because today  is 

Father's Day!

I certainly never did anything to earn the father that God chose for me... 

My Dad is faithful and strong.

He is kind and thoughtful. 

He has always done whatever it takes to provide for his family.

My Dad was NOT afraid to serve his country despite the great risks it involved.

He has ALWAYS loved his family, unwaveringly.

I am proud to say that He is a man seeking DILIGENTLY after God's own heart.

My Dad has loved and taken care of my Mom for 44 years.

He raised three kids and continues to be deeply involved in our lives.

And now, he works hard to pass the family heritage onto each of his grandkids.

My Dad is a man of great integrity and character and love!

Thank you Dad for being You!

 

I think it is in large part thanks to the relationship I share with my Dad that I was able to see the right qualities in the man that I chose to marry... Ty.  

But never did I realize over 21 years ago that Ty would be such an AMAZING Dad.  I am so grateful for the way he just showers each of his children with limitless love.  My kids have never lived a day where they have not heard from their Dad, 

"you are wonderful or... 

I love you or... 

you are beautiful or.... 

you make me so proud to be your Dad."  

Ty loves his kids (and me) with his whole life... He keeps nothing back.  

And on top of all that he continually points us to our heavenly father as he takes his responsibility to lead spiritually, very seriously.  

Thank you Ty for far surpassing any expectations I might have had for the father of my children... 

You are amazing! 

 

Now as if that wasn't enough...

When I married Ty, I got the undeserved privilege of having another INCREDIBLE father in my life.  

David Wells has all the same qualities that my Dad and Ty have...

Strength and love and kindness mark his life.

He pursues his God faithfully and consistently and passionately.

He loves his family fiercely.

And he leads us all purposefully.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE TREMENDOUS DADS IN MY LIFE!

Finally thank you to my Heavenly Father who blesses me immeasurably!

Feeling Nostalgic

In thinking about our trip next week to the airport to pickup the girls we all have been reminiscing about the day we came home from Ukraine with our precious baby boy, Nicholas.  So I thought I would just share some of those pictures... Enjoy!

 

Family gathered at airport anxiously awaiting Dad, Mom and Nic's arrival.

 Nicholas meeting his doting siblings who had prayed for him for over a year.

 

A very tired Daddy and Son.

 

 Not very sure of his new surroundings.

 

One month after arriving home, going down his first slide.

 

Thank You LORD for blessing us with this AMAZING boy!

10 More Days!

In exactly 10 days we will get to meet Katerina and Mariana for the first time!!!

Yes, we have skyped and yes, we have emailed a bit, but never a "face to face."  

Never have I been able to wrap my arms around these two precious girls that God has called to be a part of our family.  I long to hug them.  Not one of those light and awkward hugs but one that is tight and strong and true.  

In 9 days - on my birthday - I will fly up to Atlanta for a training designed for all the hosting families.   Ty will be staying home with the kids to hold down the fort.  I will get to meet the other families who are also hosting children from the Ukraine.  There will be approximately 30 children coming over.   I have the great opportunity to spend Thursday night with a family that has generously offered their home to me; instead of having to stay in a hotel.  I am anxious to meet them and share stories as well as hear the events that have shaped in them, a heart for these Ukrainian orphans.

Then on Friday, June 24th, the girls will be flying in!  This is a moment I have played over and over in my head.  I'm sure that they will be weary from their long day of traveling.  And I expect that they might feel a little nervous and unsure -  for that matter I might too.  The language barrier will probably seem monumental - at least in the beginning.  There will be so many unknowns about our future together.

But I am certain of one thing... 

that it will be a God ordained moment... 

whatever it may look like. 

And in that I can rest!  In that I feel peace wash over me... peace that passes our human understanding.  

                                                       

 

Skyping and Yard Sales!

Yesterday we got to skype with Katya and Mariana!!!  This was the fourth time that our family was able to speak with them and see them.  A translator sits with them and helps us to ask and answer questions and just share stories.  It is always such a highlight for us to be able to connect with the girls.  :)  The language barrier is tough but we smile and laugh a lot and that is a universal language.

For the last few weeks we have been in purging mode  Getting rid of the excess is always a good feeling but this has been "purging with a purpose".  Thanks to the generosity of my AWESOME family we were able to put together enough purged items to do our first fund-raising yard sale.  I was hoping to raise at least a few hundred dollars... in fact I thought if we could just reach $300 I would be thrilled.  We did not have any really big ticket items so this number was optimistic.  The morning of the yard sale my parents and sister arrived early to help put everything out.

Makenzie prayed to the Lord and asked Him to multiply our efforts like He multiplied the fish and loaves.  I believe that God heard Makenzie and multiplied my number by about 3! 
Yup!  At the end of the day we had raised $947!!!  WOO HOO! 
Not bad for our first fund-raising event.  Thank you God!  And thank you for the many donations from family and a generous neighbor.

God IS GOOD all the time!

Crazy Love

 Out of all the responses that Ty and I have received from others to our choice to pursue the adoption of two teenage girls, the most common by far is, "What?  Are you crazy?" 

We usually chuckle with them and think to ourselves, well yes, maybe we are.

But our verbal response is usually something about how we feel that God has called us to this and we are trying to just be obedient to that call.  Definitely easier said than done.  The day to day application of obedience never really looks like I (we) think it should.  Having grown up in the church I am naturally drawn to the "ideals of kingdom living".  But for some reason the challenges we face every day never seem to be as romantic or adventurous.  They fall somewhere between the mundane and aggravating.
If I am being honest I would admit that lately life's challenges have been both mundane and aggravating.  A statement between Ty and I that seems to help us gain perspective when it is so easy to focus on the circumstances is... "Well I sure am glad that God is in control... and not me."

At our core, we really do believe this... in fact it is simply faith in that belief that has brought us to this season in our lives.  But as the Bible says, we must continually renew our minds (Roman 12:2) in order to not lose sight of God's Sovereignty in all things.  Our world would definitely have us believe otherwise.

One of my favorite authors is Francis Chan.  His book Crazy Love is a must read in my opinion.  It addresses the unbelievably Crazy Love that God has for us and our response to that.  Francis Chan also does a you tube presentation (about 4 minutes long) that talks about our earthly perspective.  It is worth watching and gave me encouragement for my day... hope it does the same for you!

Just press on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86dsfBbZfWs&feature=related

Hunter Boy!

This is my Hunter Boy... and tomorrow he officially becomes a teenager!  13 years ago God smiled on us when He blessed us with this boy, who is truly pure in heart.  It's very easy to brag on him because he has many awesome qualities. 
Not a day goes by when I am not told by Hunter, "Mom do you know that I love you?"  He is very affectionate and still walks up and hugs me many times a day for no apparent reason. 

But in addition to his gentle nature he is a man's man.  He loves the outdoors and anything and everything that has to do with hunting, camping, fishing etc.  He is a walking encyclopedia on survival techniques and survival gear.  He has a great work ethic and has grown into a tremendous help around the house.  Hunter has spent 6 years studying the martial arts and has earned the level of 1st degree black belt. 

His great sense of humor has us always laughing and he is not afraid to laugh at himself.  He loves his siblings and he is definitely his little brother's hero. 

It's impossible to not be proud of this boy!

Yesterday we celebrated with a family birthday party.

Here are all the boys after shooting a new air soft gun that Hunter received for his birthday.

Happy Birthday to the MIGHTY HUNTER!  We love you more than words can express!

CRASH!

Yesterday Ty and I celebrated 21 years of marriage!   But instead of doing the normal celebratory things like go out to eat, catch a movie and spend quality time together, I chose instead to spend the day in the emergency room :) 
Well OK maybe "chose" is the wrong word.  I certainly would not have "chosen" to be knocked off my bike by a charging golden retriever while finishing up a 44 mile bike ride.  But that is exactly what happened.  With 5 years of cycling under my belt I am happy to report that this was my first major mishap.   And I am VERY GRATEFUL that God protected me from serious injury.  I now get to join the ranks of many cyclists who have broken a collar bone and experienced some AC separation.  Thankfully I always wear a helmet which was cracked in two places but protected me from a head injury.  Of course since I skidded down the gravelly pavement a bit I also obtained a whole lot of ugly road rash.

Sorry to all of those I just grossed out but trying to be real here :)

The doctors say that I should have full recovery but I will definitely have restricted movement for awhile.  Unfortunately that also includes riding which I will have to take several weeks off from... probably the hardest part of the whole deal.

I had some AWESOME support from family and friends which always reminds me of how blessed I am!

Paperwork Update

Thanks to the kind and generous donation of a good friend we were able to send out our I600A form on Friday!  Yay!  This is the petition to adopt that needs to be sent to and approved by our US government.  At the moment it is taking approximately 75 - 90 days to receive back the approval, so sending this out was a REALLY important part of the process. 

As some of you may know, Katerina will be turning 16 on October 6th of this year (my Daddy's birthday :).  Once she becomes 16 the process becomes more complicated so we are trying to get everything done before that.

I am just so humbled and in awe when God calls others to come alongside us and help make this all possible.  Despite the huge financial hurdles that are part of an international adoption I have to be honest and say that I have a real sense of peace that what God has called us to do, He will pay for.  That can come in many forms... sometimes it is blessing Ty in his business with good solid sales, sometimes it is in the response of God's people to journey along with us by donating financially.  We have also been blessed by others who have offered a gift of service when the girls are here.

God calls each of us in His Word to help the orphan - James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  We each can fill an important role in helping the fatherless find the love of a forever family.  God Bless!