Until Inessa arrives for the summer!
I remember vividly standing in the Atlanta airport all five of us hugging and crying, and then watching Inessa walk through security, turning to wave to us every few steps. I thought summertime would never arrive as we walked out of that airport without her! And here we are less than a week away - we are all so excited!
We've been busy getting ourselves ready for her arrival. I confess, we hadn't done much to change her room from when she left in January. The pictures she drew are still hanging on the wall, as is the Miley Cyrus poster she loved. I spent some time this week putting on freshly washed sheets, setting out framed pictures from Christmas, and hanging up the summer clothes we've accumulated for her. Under normal circumstances, cleaning a bedroom is not on my list of fun things to do, but I thoroughly enjoyed working in her room this week. It's good to have some tasks to direct all the emotional energy towards!
There is a lot of emotion as we get ready to be a temporary family of five again. The boys are almost giddy about Inessa coming back. They adore her, and in our emails back and forth it is obvious she feels the same way about them. She frequently says how she can't wait to see her brothers. Mark and I are excited, but there are also other emotions we work through minute to minute. We are nervous about how she will feel being back - absence makes the heart grow fonder, but will she be disappointed in the reality of our family when she gets here? We are concerned that she will feel pulled in two different directions as we pray about her future. We feel overwhelmed when we look at the reality of what we may be getting into - parenting a beautiful 12 year old girl. But even with all those other emotions clamoring for attention, the one feeling that remains the strongest is joy. This girl just brings joy.
We could sure use prayer are we welcome this sweet Latvian girl back to her American home. Pray for safe travel for Inessa and all the other children coming this summer on the hosting program. Pray God will bless our time together as we reunite. Pray that she comes to understand how deeply God and our family love her. And pray for wisdom for us as we face the uncertainties of adoption with Inessa.
I'll try to do a better job of updating the blog while she is here this summer!
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