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Witamy w Polsce - Welcome to Poland!

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Well, after a very long day, I have arrived. I left NW Indiana at 4:00 pm on Saturday night and arrived at the hotel one hour outside of Warsaw, Poland at 7:00sh pm Sunday night, granted, I am 7 hours ahead of home. We brought over 19 pieces of luggage (humanitarian aid). It took over one hour to get everyone checked in and by the time we made it to the gate, we were just 1 hour or so from boarding. Unfortunately, we were delayed quite a bit. But we finally boarded and made it to Warsaw! But... somehow one piece of luggage has been lost or stolen. We are praying that it is found and gets to who needs it as it is EXTREMELY important.  I met Oksana, a young woman who has been fighting right on the front, going back and forth between Poland and Ukraine. However, this is not the first time that I have actually met her. She was the one that travelled with N and Y this past Christmas. She has been doing so much and fighting so hard. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  We also met
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Back to normal?

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The great news is that the boys made it back to Ukraine safely! It was a long day of travel for them but they made it safely which is what I can only hope and pray for at this moment.  I want to use this post to update everyone on a few different things. First, the house feels very quiet. It is hard to say it is quiet with a 7, 3 and 8 month old in the house. There are things that I miss and see that remind me of those sweet boys. For example, we have 3 packages of Hawaiian buns. Why? Because Y LOVED to eat them with ketchup. It's weird driving what feels like a bus with empty seats. I have a few pairs of their shoes sitting out because we just could not fit everything in their bags.  And with all my sadness, comes the sadness of my kids. Hunter wrote something in school (see below). It says "I miss my friends. I feel alone." Hudson wanted to pick up donuts today and asked to pick up a donut for N and Y. We are all grieving. There are some rays of hope now and again. Y ha
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our last day together...

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So the kiddos slept in late (nothing really new - only new part was Hudson NOT going into their room and banging on their heads to wake up).  As soon as N and Y woke up, I got a huge hug from both of them.  Over the last few days I've received so many hugs from them.  It makes me wonder how much physical connection they get when in the Ukraine.  No matter what I feel like I barely scratched the surface regarding how much love and affection these boys need.   The boys had to be at the airport by 630 pm.  Since I wasn't sure how the airlines would work that day(any cancelations or delays) I decided to get a hotel room to be close.  We were able to get into our room early so the kids could swim. We ordered in pizza for dinner.   By 6 it was time to get to the airport.  We all got in my car and headed out. When we arrived we had to make sure we got out all their stuff.  Each boy was taking home a large duffle bag, scooter, overflowing backpack, snacks for the flight and another bag
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Last night home

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Today was the last full day that N and Y that would be here with us for this hosting session.  We kind of had laid back day.  I spent the day doing laundry and doing my best to pack everything.  Needless to say, it was not easy.  As I packed their things I was happy to see that they had been provided with so much.  At the same time I was extremely sad.  Almost all of their belongings in the world fit in a large duffle bag and back pack.  It's gut wrenching to really think about this.   I also took the boys to get a haircut before they left.  They look so handsome.  After the haircut we came home and I asked the boys what they would like for dinner.  And they did not disappoint.  N wanted hot ham and cheese sandwiches and french fries.  Y wanted spaghetti.  So I made it.  And they ate like they wouldn't eat again.  My heart had never been so happy and full and breaking all at the same time.   We ended the evening with a visit from a friend.  They brought a card and the boys conn
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Heartache 💔

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When I started this journey, the director asked all host parents to take the kids to the dentist and eye doctors.  In a previous post I talked about how Northshore Hospital system helped with eye doctors.  Well, they went above and beyond and also had their dentists saw many of the Ukrainian kids.   We could not make appointments for the kids until they arrived because we did not have all of their information. This meant that many of the appointments were made towards the end of their time here.   Well, some kids couldn't wait that long.  There were stories of some of the children having teeth that were rotting upon arrival.  Again, Northshore came through and made arrangements to see those kids that so badly needed it.   Fast forward to today.  N and Y had their appointments.  I was nervous as to what we would learn.  N's teeth were by far better but still had more than 6 cavities. Y had more cavities than that and most likely one extraction.  Due to the fact that they leave o
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Last night as a family of 5

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Let me start off by saying that N and Y do not leave until Sunday but Hunter leaves tomorrow to be with his dad.   I think the best part of the day was when we delivered lasagnas.  I'm part of a great organization called lasagna love.  We deliver lasagnas to people - sometimes it is for people who do not have food and sometimes it's for a front line worker too exhausted to make a home cooked meal.  When we pulled up to the house, N and Y were a bit confused.  I explained everything and they wanted to take the food with me to the doorstep.  It's great having them help me give back.   We also had fun building a fort and, being a teacher, I've never had so much fun watching the kids learn! I hope that they are able to come back so that we can do some more learning together! Lastly, when I started this journey, the director asked us to take the kids to the dentist and eye doctor. Again, thanks to a good friend, Jessica Bakker, Northshore was willing to cover the expenses fo
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There are still good days and not so good days...

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Our days together are slowly coming to an end. Overall it has been an amazing experience. A friend who has been doing this for awhile has given some really good insight as to why hosting is wonderful for all involved.  Why HOST? -Share the love of a family with a child. -Teach them about who Jesus is and eternal life through Him. -It is a life-changing cultural experince for the entire family -Give the child the gift of hope and love -Show a child life outside of the orphanage -Raise awareness for orphans worldwide, serve as their advocate -A child will touch your heart and impact your life. Thank you Wendy Frump! I could not say it any better. If you are interested in hosting in the future, please reach out to me. Yesterday, a very good friend of mine, Emily Tritschler, took some quick pictures of all of us together. To stay that getting ready started on the wrong foot would be putting it mildly. When the boys first arrived, we went to church with family and N had a really difficult
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