WayfaringStrangers

I'm sitting here with writer's block, thinking about how we are easing into autumn. I really just want to take a nap, but I feel like the blog has become sadly neglected. I love writing. I love going back and looking at the words and pictures I wrote 1, 2, 3, or more years ago. I love watching us grow. And so, even though blogs in general seem to have fallen out of style in place of Instagram, I am here. We enjoyed lots of family time at my sister Olivia's wedding. I have no pictures (pitiful, I know), but it was beautiful. It was really fun having some family in town. Patrick had a birthday this month. The little monkey received no less than 4 new garbage trucks from loving family and friends, which he has been enjoying. Patrick is definitely being a 3 year old...I have to take a lot of deep breaths to get through the day. He's a smart cookie, but all the challenges of a 3 year old are wearing me down. We'll get through it, though! We are so grateful fo...

A little guy I love started PreK 4 last week. We decided to enroll him at the school he went to last year, since we had a good experience. Why mess with what works? He walked confidently into his classroom and seems to be doing well. He even stays for lunch! I drop him off and then get to spend several hours at home with Patrick. We've been taking walks, playing, and I've been trying to get more done around the house. Then, we go pick Graham up and we're all happy to see each other. Making school decisions has been more stressful than I thought it would be. I wish  I were a person or that we were a family who had always known what we will do school-wise. i.e. "We will definitely homeschool!" or "Our kids will go to public school" or "We'll commit to Christian/private school for our kids." As it is, I can see us doing any of those educational scenarios.  When I was pregnant and Graham was a baby, all those decisions were so far away. ...

I've been thinking much about Grandpa. When we got the call that he had unexpectedly passed away, we were in the beginning of our host month and getting through the challenges that came with that. Thankfully, our great host organization sent a chaperone to come be with V for the weekend of the funeral so we could participate in everything. I'm so glad we could focus on that day with family, saying goodbye. I'm glad that years ago, my grandparents moved to be near us as we grew up. I'm glad that when I graduated from college, I lived with them for a year. I'm glad that the past 2+ years we have lived near Grandma and Grandpa and been able to spend time with them. I'm especially glad that the boys knew their GP. I'm glad we named Patrick Wilford after Grandpa (Wilford was his first name). I'm glad I shared my love of gardening with Grandpa. He always shared tips and had good advice. I'm glad I asked Grandpa to share stories ...

After the busyness of July, August has been a fairly quiet month. I was sick with a cold for a week, and since then we've been working on house and garden projects and trying to soak up the rest of the summer. It's amazing how quickly I can go from overwhelmed and too busy to bored and listless at home. Such is life. I've been mindful to do things with the boys that I could not do when V was visiting. Even visiting the library was too much for me to handle with 3 kids (and one I could not communicate with and explain the rules to). So, we've been visiting the library, went to a movie, and enjoyed going to the pool one day. I'm just trying to spend time with the boys and do fun little things. It almost always keeps our spirits up when we have a little activity. Behn and I also had friends over the other night, and really enjoyed good company. This week I'm back to tutoring, so the evenings are full. Graham's been playing with his marble run blocks and Le...

We had a busy month in July, hosting beautiful V from Ukraine. I want to share some details and lessons learned. Hosting is such a growing experience. First, real quick, the purpose of hosting, since many do wonder. Hosting children who are orphans gives them the unique opportunity to travel, learn how to live in a family (surprisingly this does not come naturally if you've grown up in an orphanage), feel loved, special, and treasured, have new experiences, hear about the love of Jesus, and be exposed to potential adoptive families. I think many people wonder if it's kind of a teaser for the kids: here's this great experience and a family- and now you're taken away again! I can see that. But the hosting experience is rich, seeds are sown, and many times it does  lead to adoption. It's better than a summer in the orphanage. Here are 7 lessons we learned while hosting: 1. Children Do Not Belong in Orphanages During our home visit, our social worker told us tha...

This is the longest this little space has been quiet. My rule is and has been, don't write if you don't feel like it, Megan. In July, while Victoria was here, I did not have any time or energy or desire to write. I was consumed by each day, fully depleted. Then, last week, I was quite sick with a cold and trying to get life back to normal. Just in the last day or so, I've been thinking about this blog and ready to write again. So much has happened, and yet things look almost the same. We hosted and loved a little girl, which was a lot harder than any of us imagined. We saw many walls slowly come down. We relied on family for support, which was humbling and also wonderful. We lost my Grandpa; well, not so much lost him, but had to say goodbye for now. And now it's mid-August and the summer is looking older. I will write more. Soon.

To distract myself from obsessively checking my email for an update from the agency with information about when Victoria may arrive this week, I figured I would take a minute to share pictures of her room. I had such a fun time getting the room ready! I've never been one to do much in the kid's rooms, but this time I felt the strong urge to make it special. I had a lot of help- Dad T painted the room. Friends from church gave us a mattress. My sister-in-law Rachael shared the curtains, a friend gave us a canopy that matches the curtains, another friend gave us a brand new pretty suitcase, my Mom got the bedding. Many different friends and family donated new or used clothes, shoes, toys, as well as bath products, nail polish, and hairbows. Another SIL, Lydia, just sent a new carseat for her! I am overwhelmed by how many people have cared for this little girl. (Also, if you donated something and I forgot to list it, excuse my featherbrain- we appreciate every gift!). Without ...