We are Home!

We are home. So sorry for the delay in posting. We have been home now for 12 days and it is so great! We have not forgotten what it was like to be in Ukraine for so long and we are so grateful to be home! So here is a few things to update since we've been back:

Arrival at the airport: We could not have been more humbled (until we pulled in our driveway, but more about that later) when we rounded the corner at Will Rogers airport. There some family and friends had gathered to welcome us home. I don't know who screamed when they saw us, but I am grateful they did. It moved my heart to tears and I was sooo happy to be amongst loved ones again. Thank you to all of you that were there that night. I know it was late and you drove across town to say "welcome home" to us - thank you! And thank you to ALL of you for your prayers. It was truly amazing to be "living on a prayer" (had to get the corny quote from an old Bon Jovi song and I might add, the first concert Scott & I attended together while dating :P)

Pulling into our driveway: Well y'all really know how to humble us. As we pulled into our driveway it appeared as if there had been an Extreme Makeover Landscaping Edition to our house. Our flower beds actually had flowers in them, our back yard had been sodded and the play fort had been sanded and the ladder rungs had been replaced. There were leaves & bushes removed, grass had been fertilized and watered, a new patio was layed...It looked like a real yard. I know there are so many people who poured their hearts into making our yard pretty for our homecoming and for our children. THANK YOU - THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts...thank you!!!!! The kids play out there and it is so great to think of all the love and people who were preparing this place for them. Thank you again! The kids LOVE it and so do we!

The Kids: So, everyone asks me, "How are the kids doing?" And I have to say they are saturated with the Holy Spirit! They are doing so great. We communicate through the little bit of english they know and the little bit of russian we know. We do a lot of "charades" and it pretty much works for us. We are able to communicate well. When it gets difficult, I remind myself that there will come a day when we will all speak the same language. So for now, we do what we gotta do. I really can't imagine being 5&7 and coming to a new country. But that is where the miraculous hand of God lies. They kids are happy. They LOVE their new life, their new family, they love to laugh. Sometimes they tell on Kade for something not realizing that whatever he is doing is an o.k. thing to do. So once they figure out it's ok, then they commence to participating themselves. It;s pretty cute! They are doing so well. We have gone back to "pre-school" so to speak. I am working with them on some basic preschool academics such as shapes, colors, letters, etc. These things will need to be learned in english before I can place them in grades for homeschool. Nathan was reading in Russian when we left, so I know he is hungry to read again. He was very proud of the fact he could read. So we need to teach and encourage him to read in english. Hannah is having a great time. She loves her American clothes and her family. She loves having a mama and will follow me around the house to help do whatever I am doing. She is a joy and we are glad to be their parents. Kade is adjusting well, too. He was an only child for 10 years so he is having to learn the dynamics of being a big brother and all that that means. He is doing great. Everyone is. Of course there is adjustment and to say that we have not had to make changes as things come up wouldn't be the truth. But we are adjusting, and we are doing good. This is definitely a calling. This is one of the ways in which Jesus intended us to fulfill Matthew 28:19-20. I have to tell you when we our at the end of ourselves, God comes in and takes over and renews our minds. So this is good. We are happy. I can't wait to see God's plan unfold for all of my children, He is so good.

If you have ever felt the call to adopt, do not ignore it. Be obedient, a child in the world is waiting for your obedience. God will sustain you and work out all of your "excuses", your "what ifs", your "inconveniences". This isn't about excuses or your inconvenience. God does not ask for your obedience to inconvenience you. He asks for your obedience to bless you! Listen to Him.

Some funny things since we have been home: Hannah didn't realize you could wear flap-flaps (flip-flops) outside. In Ukr. they are house shoes and she was confused. I had to put mine on and walk outside for her to see it was okay. She ran up and was telling Nathan in excitement "you can wear these OUTSIDE!" While I was having the flip flop conversation inside, Scott was elsewhere having the "shorts" conversation with Nathan. He didn't realize you could wear shorts outside. So it was a fun day. I have to say that both children (with Kade's example) have also realized the joy of being barefoot in the grass. So just simple little things that we do everyday are being reminded to us through the children. They are such joys and really are eager to please. We want for them to be happy children and we enjoy showering them with love and attention.

We went to the zoo the other day and Nathan got to feed the birds (lorakeets) for the first time ever in his life. He LOVED it. Hannah & I were a little more apprehensive. They both enjoyed learning about water fountains for the first time too!

We are so happy to be home. Scott has returned to work and misses being with his family 24/7. We are so thankful for all of the time that we were able to spend together. We are busier than we used to be, but why wouldn't we be? We are adjusting to two more little people and we are happy to adjust. I have to interject here that the children think that America is the nicest place on earth! We get off the airplane and there are people with balloons and flags & presents. Two days later we go to church and there are people coming to greet them and handing them gifts. Some friends and family have visited bringing dinner or have given gifts to them. They love it each time we meet someone new. They have NO STRANGER DANGER (so we are going to be working on that, pronto!) but they just assume that we know everyone here in America and that everyone is so friendly! So thanks for being a great American ambassador to my kids!

Our journey is not over. We ask that you continue to pray for the children as they adjust to American culture. It's different than a Ukrainian orphanage. We know that our family is where God has ordained them to be, but they are having to make adjustments from orphanage to family thinking and they are working hard. Pray for them.

Also, just a side note and the glory DOES NOT go to us! I include it here only so you can see how God is the master coordinator. Okay, so remember when Ukrainian Labor Day caused us to stay in Kharkov for an extra two days. We were so bummed. We had lunch with the Mapps (Baptist Missionaries we talked about earlier) and then we called them and told them we were staying in town an extra two days. We decided to go to dinner together the next night. As we get off the phone with the Mapps, Scott said, "Man, I wish I would have gotten Francis' contact information the night I met him at the internet cafe'. Francis was from Nigera and was in Kharkov attending the university for comp. engineering. Scott got into a conversation with him one random night while we were posting to the blog. Francis is a nice guy, and was hungry for some english conversation. So I digress for information sake. Anyway, Scott says he wishes he would have gotten Francis' contact information the night they were talking so he could meet with him since we are having to stay in town longer and also so he could have hooked him up with the Mapps for some english conversation after we left. Before we go home, we decide we should post to the blog before we go to bed, so 20 minutes later we walk into the internet cafe' that became our usual hangout. We pick the only computer available and guess who is sitting in the next seat? FRANCIS!!! How cool is God to do that!? So we go to dinner with the Mapps and Francis the next night. Then we decide to go to church on Sunday at the Mapps house. Francis and his friend Emmanuel come too. So long story longer... we get an email from the Mapps today saying that they are going to start having college fellowship night at their house because they have several Nigerian/South African, etc. students coming to their house for fellowship. And to think that God used that extra two days to make that happen. How cool is that!!!??? WOW!!!! It just goes to show that we don't always know what God is doing. And He was so merciful to us to let us see that the extra two days in Kharkov were not in vain, but were all a part of his plan. He didn't have to do that, but He did and we are completely humbled that he would use us and Francis to bring college students into fellowship with each other and with the Mapps. That is definitely a YEAH GOD!!!!

Well, better get off here for now. Sure do love you all and thanks again for your prayers.

The Thompson 5
Scott, Kayla, Kade, Nathan & Hannah