Homegrown and Heartgrown: Instruments in His hands

February 18- Wednesday
We woke up late because we got to bed so late last night. In fact it was kind of a lazy morning. Well, we did get dressed and put our bedding away. Then we ate breakfast (another blessing from Sister Thatcher). Then Keith tried to work. I think he got the hours in but I had a hard time keeping the girls out of the room. They would sneak in and watch him on the computer. Sometimes K would try to push buttons. I tried my best to keep them interested in the other room, but I’m not sure how productive he was able to be. Hopefully that will get better.
We ate lunch (sandwiches—another gift from Sister Thatcher—they are truly angels in disguise!!!) and then took the kids to the park across the street from the church. They had a lot of fun playing. I think we would have stayed longer but A needed to go to the bathroom. Our facilitator also called and wondered if we could take the girls back to the orphanage. The director wasn’t there when we took the girls and she wants to say goodbye to them. Sure, we can do that. Tomorrow at 10:00 is ok. Ok now we have to figure out HOW to get them there.
We walked back to the hotel and I laid down with Elijah for a nap. Keith finally convinced R to come in and take a nap. When they were asleep for about 20 minutes I woke Keith up so he could go shopping. He got up to make his way out the door with A1 (her turn to go with him) and R woke up. Ahhhhh. But Elijah stayed asleep for quite a while. He REALLY needed it!
I then tried to keep things to a dull roar until the Keith came back. He was gone quite a while. He bought quite a bit of food. He also bought some cleaning cloths, a sharp knife, some little Valentines toys for everyone and a new puzzle. He was very well received. LOL
We only had about an hour before we were to go to the church for supper. (Sister Thatcher invited us over and then the missionaries and then some members. It just kind of morphed. So they had to do it at the church.) So, I cut up apples to tide everyone over. And we took juice to share and left.
Sister Thatcher made sweet & sour chicken over rice, a cabbage salad and the softest, fattest rolls you have ever seen. The bread here is very hard and dry, so soft and fat is a good change. Hmmm hot food! Yum!!!! Did I mention that she’s an angel.
The girls were pretty clingy. Which is a good thing. They perceive us as an island in a storm. Kristina had decided she wouldn’t eat. Not sure why. We offered everything but didn’t push her. The others all ate what they were given but didn’t want more. Oh, R sat by Sister Thatcher and an Elder. I worried about that but she seemed to want to so I didn’t say anything. Halfway through the meal she just burst into tears. So we moved her over by us and she ate everything and was much happier.
The kids at home called while we were eating. It was good to finally get Elijah to talk to them. He didn’t talk long but was very happy afterwards. Caleb wanted to talk to the girls but we couldn’t convince them to talk—I think, understandably.
At the church they have a supply of Disney movies in Russian and Ukrainian. They put Ratatouille (I’m not sure how to spell that) in for the kids to watch. Then the adults chatted. They wanted to start a game of Uno (which would have been lots of fun) but by then the kids were done with the movie and were kind of bouncing off the walls. So we cleaned up and made our way home.
We didn’t take as long getting to bed tonight (which is good, I REALLY need some sleep!!) Most everyone was asleep by 9:00.
Heavenly Father has been definitely watching out for us on this trip!! He has guided us every step of the way. He has put people in our path that we needed to touch or needed to touch us. Every night I fall asleep being in awe of the effects (and ripple effect) of it from that day. He is also watching out for us at home as well. Our kids our well taken care of. Our house is getting in order and the ladies from the church are collecting clothes and making quilts for the girls. People going to so much trouble for little ol’ us, can only be driven by Heavenly Father. Thank you all who are instruments in his hands. Thank you Heavenly Father!!
K holding Elijah while we were entertaining them before passport pictures