Why are we hosting?!?!?!

Why are we hosting?! Well there are several reasons but I guess the biggest one is why not?! We aren't super parents, we are just regular people with normal boring lives. I have wanted to host for a year or two now but things came up and also when you start getting down to brass tacks....well it's scary! Lol like I said we are not special or extraordinary we are very very normal. I read about these other families that are hosting or adopting and think wow what awesome people but truth be told they are probably as normal as we are! You don't have to be this super organized, well traveled person to host a child. What you do need is a genuine want to help an orphan enjoy their time here all it basically requires is a little paitence and a little bit of a sense of adventure. Sure it's kinda scary I mean it's unknown and unfamiliar but what in life hasn't been that way at some point?! On the plane ride to NC to meet Masha I kept thinking to myself are we really going to be able to do this? And guess what we are! It hasnt even been a week yet but I already know it's worth all the scary feelings you'll have and questions you will ask yourself. It is awkward at times?! Uh heck yeah it is but it's a lot of fun too! I seriously recommend hosting to any family who have contemplated it before but thought they weren't brave enough to do it! Just look at the pictures on my Facebook page of her smiling and having a good time, that right there makes it worth it to me:) and the best is yet to come my 9 year old daughter will finally be home this weekend so the fun really begins then!

Ok more about Masha and why she's here!

Ok so imagine having someone in your home who speaks no English and you dont speak their language either....now add in that someone is a young teenager...ok now they are also an orphan that lives in an orphanage. They are not used to how to act in a "normal" family setting and their social skills are a little off because of where they live! That's how it is here, it's nothing bad just different than our version of normal! Masha is not used to riding in a car or wearing a seatbelt in fact she hates the seatbelt and grumbles everytime I make her buckle up! Her sense of personal space is a lot different than mine also she bumps into me constantly when we are walking and other people as well and if you cross paths while walking well watch out because she won't stop! Lol like I said nothing bad just needs a little fine tuning for American life! I still don't know if she even wants to be adopted and leave her country. She is available and has no siblings or special needs, she just needs love. I can tell she would be a great daughter for someone she is blossoming here in just the few says of being around our family. She's a typical teenager she likes to shop, likes babies, likes trying on clothes and likes to sing. I could totally see her in choir and cheerleading with those long skinny legs! Lol here in america we take everything we have for granted, I'm not saying adoption internationally is better than adopting a child from the US foster care system. An orphan is an orphan they all need families. At least here in the US you are not shunned for being an orphan as a lot of other countries do. Unfortunately most children overseas will age out and end up on the street or dead. The statistics are stagerring and sad. In just three short years Masha will age out, hopefully if she is not adopted she can go to a trade school and get a job, unfortunately the statistics are not in her favor for that outcome. It's more likely she will be into drugs and prostitution or dead:( that is why I believe in hosting and adoption this experience could change her life for the better! That is my hope and prayer.

Our hosting experience so far!

Well we decided at the last minute to host an orphan from Eastern Europe for three weeks. Hosting in and of itself is an adventure but of course our family has to have more of one than normal!!! We saw a picture of a cute nine year old named Masha and got all excited about having a kid Ashlyn's age here for her to play with. The kids flew in to Raleigh NC so I flew out last Thursday and of course my flight was delayed by around 2.5 hours! Then the kids flight was delayed about 45 minutes so they arrived just after midnight exhausted but very excited! As all the kids came running up to their host families I was looking for my kid but didn't see her! After a few minutes Amanda the co-founder of te hsng organization realized I was kidless so she asked the chaperones that came with the kids where Masha was...well I was presented with Masha but it was a different Masha than I expected! I took her back to the hotel for the night since we were both exhausted and figured what the heck we'll figure it out! The next day we find out the original Masha went into a foster home back in their country so the orphanage director sent this girl who is 13. The hosting agency gave me the opportunity to get my hosting fees back and said they would find another family for her but Jared and I both agreed we said we were hosting an orphan so here we go! We were not about to take a chance on hurting this girls feelings by saying you are too old. This is our first hosting experience, first experience with someone in our home who speaks a different language and first experience with an older child coming into your home. This gives me such a greater appreciation for foster parents! Here we are with this 13 year old who we know nothing about and she doesnt even speak the same language! I had downloaded several apps for translation from English to Russian but not all the translations are correct! It sometimes takes a few tries to get some kind of understanding! I'm going to write more tomorrow about our first few days together and about Masha but I'm exhausted right now! Masha is so excited to be here she is wearing me out, ok well it's not all her my 2 year old and 5 month old are contributing! Anyway I'll just say this it's a challenge but it's worth it! I'll let you know why tomorrow.

Baby updates!!!

Well I talked to the agency Friday after our birth mom's doctor appointment, they're both doing good and will probably have a c-section scheduled a few days before the due date. I finally put her room together yesterday and washed her NB size clothes. My husband reminded me that I was wanting our family and friends to treat us like we are expecting but I still hadn't taken the tags off the clothes I bought! Soooo I washed a crib sheet and put the bumpers in too:) so we are ready for Savannah's arrival now! Basically we just need 0-3 and up size clothes, bibs, socks, bottles, diapers, wipes and the small stuff! This weekend we had Ashlyn's 9th birthday party, still having a hard time with the fact that my little girl is 9! She had a good time and 3 girls spent the night staying up late watching movies and giggling into the wee hours of the morning! Instead of birthday presents we asked guests to bring money that Ashlyn could donate to Reeces Rainbow, specifically to Celine's grant fund. We have $100 that was given to us Saturday to donate and combining that with what we have saved in spare change we have a total as of yesterday of $142.75!!! I still have a bunch of cans to recycle I think about $20 worth so I'm holding off sending the check to RR just yet. I'm so proud of my sweet girl for wanting to donate instead of getting gifts!

Sooo much going on!!!

Well it has been really busy around here in the last week! The awesome crib I got on craigslist....well turned out to be saturated in smoke. We aired it outside several days, I tried vinegar, pine sol, pledge, Murphy oil, borax, febreeze.....and it still smelled! So we donated it and bought a brand new crib, changing table and mattress from walmart with the help of some gift cards I kept forgetting about!! Jared put it all together Saturday and we got the crib set in as well. I went to SAM's Sunday and bought a few sleepers for her so I guess we're pretty much ready for at least a week or two anyway! My poor Kaeden is sick again with a runny nose and cough. We went to the DR last week for his 18 month check up but they said it was just a virus so at least no need for meds this time! Saturday was also Ashlyn's 9th birthday!!! Really hard to believe my girl is 9 now. We are having her party this weekend coming up and she asked that instead of presents she get money to donate to Reece's Rainbow, specifically to Celine's grant fund! My kids are spoiled and have WAY too much especially since it was just Christmas! I'm trying to teach Ashlyn that we should help others, that when you have more than enough of something you should share it! I really want her to have a servant's heart. As for baby news, I have nothing new to report. As far as I know everything is fine! I talked to the agency last week and they said her dr appt went great. No contractions or any cause for concern and the due date is still Feb. 11 or close to it! I'm ready but at the same time I'm not!!! As I look at today's date it makes my heart start racing....really it's already the 24th!!!! How did it already become the end of January!?!? Kinda scary!!!!

Craigslist rocks!

I found a very nice double stroller the other night on craigslist for $40 and it matches the carseat we already have and is in brand new condition!!! Then I found a crib that matches the dresser in Savannah's room for $75! Now we just need to buy a mattress for it! The bank needed one more thing for our refinance, for the millionth time yesterday. Hopefully we can close on it next week. It's been a long stressful few months trying get this done. Then we can focus on other things like having another baby and Ashlyn turning 9!!! Wow I can't believe my girl is going to be 9 in about a week! Time really goes too fast when it comes to your kiddos. Kaeden will be 18 months old tomorrow and that's hard to believe too, I still think of him as my little baby though!

I had a dream........

Last night I dreamed of Celine, not of her in the orphanage but here in my home as my daughter. It was so vivid that when I woke up it actually upset me, she was here playing with Ashlyn and I was taking the girls to school. I know that we aren't able to commit to her because of finances but it still is breaking my heart. I've been looking at Reece's Rainbow for over 3 years and never felt so drawn to a child before. We prayed for another baby and that prayer has been answered by a birth mom choosing us but I still feel like Celine should be here too, I guess it's a little like having your cake and eating it too! Adoption is sooo expensive, especially internationally because of all the extra paperwork and travel involved. And it takes months to complete, probably closer to a year. If it was up to me and money wasn't an object I would be booking my ticket to go get her and bring her home now:)But that's not possible right now so I'm just going to try to bring her grant fund up so her family can find her! On a another subject tomorrow is my grandmas 84th birthday! I think I'm gonna make her some lemon bars or a lemon pie and cook some cheesy potatoes and broccoli with baked chicken for dinner. That's gonna have to be my present to her because we are hopefully going to finally close on our refinance of our house this week. I'll believe it when it happens, the bank has been working on it since July:( they keep losing papers, needing one more thing, etc, etc, ........