Home Sweet Home

We made it back to Minnesota and have had one day together at home. The trip home had some very difficult moments, but what I really want to say about it is that when I really needed to see and feel God, He sent people to me. From the line in the Moscow airport until we reached home, God sent people to help and encourage Dasha and me. I met one couple in Moscow and one lady in New York who were both from Minnesota and had adopted older children before. A lady from Delta at our New York boarding gate who spoke Russian and a Russian friend from home were able to help calm Dasha's fears about missing the plane. Five men from my church were willing to drive in bad weather conditions to pick us up and drive us and our two cars that were in the cities home. They brought my precious daughter A with them, and my wonderful son R came to the airport to give his mom a hug and see his new sister. Thank you to everyone who were God's hands and feet on this day. God is so good!

After we arrived at the airport and were waiting for our luggage, Anjaela saw us and came running, calling our names. She jumped into my arms and then gave Dasha a huge hug. Dasha returned the hug and both were smiling and you would have thought they had found their long lost friends. They took hands and off they went to the car. Anjaela kicked in and took over and the two of them sat in the back seat and played and ate for the next few hours. They finally fell asleep the last hour of the trip folded over each other.

Our first day at home went great. Dasha was so happy and did not get upset once. I actually think she is happy to be home and feels secure here. I am sure the difficult times will come, but for now I am enjoying the day, getting hugs and kisses and hearing "Mom" being called from my two youngest girls.

Thank you to all of you who have supported us and upheld us in your prayers. You are great and I love and appreciate you. One more time I want to thank God for being with us always and helping us to bring Dasha home to be a part of our family. We have an awesome God!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go.........I'm leaving on a jet plane

In two hours we get picked up to go the airport. This is the end of a very long journey and the beginning of another. Thank you for your prayers and support. Today will be a long trip, please pray that it will be uneventful. I am exhausted, but so glad to be going home.

Good bye from Russia,
Cheri'

His Grace is Sufficient!

Hello Everyone. Sorry I have not written in the last couple of days. They have been tough days, but things are getting better. I appreciate all of you who have been praying for us. God is giving me grace and strength.
Yesterday was much better. We took Bethany to the airport which was concerning to Dasha because we were not going with her. Our interpreter explained it to her and she seemed okay and gave Bethany hugs before she left. I miss having her here, but now she is on to another adventure. We had our appointment at the US Embasy and Dasha got her visa and all her paperwork for immigration. We are just about ready to go home!
We also successfully went grocery shopping. Dasha helped pick out food that she liked, which was an interesting array. I think we would eat salami and pickles for every meal if it was up to her. She is starting to say some English words. When she really wants something she will look at me with puppy dog eyes and say "please". We played UNO last night using the English words for the colors. She is teaching me Russian words as well and I have a list that I refer to. The Russian/English dictionary has come in quite handy and sometimes I just have her read the word and she helps me to pronounce it. I'm sure the language barrier is hard and probably the sourse of a lot of her frustration. Such big changes are taking place in her life. Please pray that she feels secure and that God will give her peace. Please pray for me that I will have wisdom as I deal with Dasha.
I think the man at the US Embassy was surprised that we were adopting an older child. He wanted to know if she was a sibling of one we had already adopted. I am glad we adopted an older child. She needs us and I am sure we will find that we need her. I praise God for the family He has given me!

God is Faithful!

I'm back and want to say although yesterday was hard with Dasha, she really has done great and is very loving. Today has been a good day. She seems to do better when the three of us just hang out together. We were going to go for a walk and see the sites of Nizhny, but it was so cold we had to turn around and go back to the hotel before we saw anything. We are hoping tomorrow will be warmer. Daha is funny and makes us laugh even though we don't know what she is saying. She seems to be attaching to us which is really good news. She clings to us when she is nervous or in new situations. Today after trying to figure out train tickets and hotel rooms, I sat on the bed and started to cry. Dasha came over and put her arms around me. She did not like to see me cry.

God is so good and faithful. I was so nervous about going on this trip without Tom. I rely on him a lot. I didn't understand why God would have me go without him. Haven't I learned to trust God enough through this journey? But now I have no one to rely on except for God. And I have seen that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. He sends people to help, but He is the Helper and sourse of strengh and peace. Thank you for all who are praying for the three of us. We need it, and we know that He is answering.

This is just a quickie. Sorry I did not write last night. It was a long day and we got home late and couldn't get on the internet in our room. Overall it was a good day, but had some difficult moments. We tried to go to church and thought Dasha would do okay because she had played with a couple of the girls the day before and enjoyed herself. But when we went upstairs and took our coats off, she refused to take her coat off and would not go into the room where the church was. Her new friends talked to her and tried to get her to go with them, but she was upset and would have nothing to do with it. I will not go into details but I ended up staying outside and eventually in the hall way to the church during the service. A couple of the older children who we know, stayed out and talked to her. They were a big blessing to me. We don't know why she would not go in, but at the end of service she peeked in and eventually sat by Bethany and ate cookies and drank hot tea until it was time to leave. I think I will wait a few weeks to take her to our church. She is unsure of new situations and people. We spent the rest of the day with the Pastor and his wife and family which was very nice and she enjoyed playing with their kids. We are going for a walk now to visit the sites in Nizhny. I will get back on tonight. Thanks for your continued prayers.
Cheri'

"Getting to Know You"

We had another good day today. When I woke up, Dasha was quietly laying in her bed, playing with her Barbie. Here are a few things I learned about Dasha today: She is a very good cleaner upper and organizer. She loves to help. She really loves to take pictures. She likes girly things such as Barbies, painted toenails and princesses. She does not like meat (pork and chicken), only "sausage" such as salomi and ham. She likes lemons which she eats like an orange. She likes to eat and try new things. She is a good sharer. She adjusts quite well. She does not like seatbelts. This was the only time she has been upset since we picked her up. She crossed her arms and pouted until we got to our destination, but got over it quickly. She likes to play games and beat her mom in the Memory game. We do not speak or understand Russian very well at all, but she keeps trying to talk to us anyway. We are finding a way to communicate somehow. Sometimes she laughs and shrugs her shoulders. I'm sure she thinks I am really bad at this Russian stuff, but she tries to help me out. I think her first english words will be "I don't know", because she hears it all the time. She is not so keen at trying English. She is good natured and quite a trooper. I can not wait for all of you to meet her.

As for today, we were blessed to go to our friend's house for lunch. She taught me how to make Russian pancakes. They were very good! Another family came over and Dasha had fun playing with the two other girls. When Dasha first met our friends, she was scared and held on to Bethany and me. But after she got used to them, she enjoyed herself. They took us to the grocery store so we could have some food in our hotel room. Shopping was one of the things I was most scared about. I was very thankful that they helped me over that hurdle and next time should not be so bad. God has a way of putting other Christians in our paths to help us out. What a blessing our Russian friends have been to us on this journey.

For Papa

This is a note to Tom, who I miss very much. I know you wish you could be here. I just wanted you to know that Dasha wanted to know where you were. The orphanage director gave Dasha, Bethany and I some chocolate. When Dasha heard that you had put a big candy bar in my suitcase for her, she gave me her chocolate and said it was for you. I know she will love you and we will be talking about you a lot.
P.S. The internet will not work in our room, so I can not use Skype. They still expect us to leave Moscow on Friday.
I love you!

Dasha's "Gotcha Day"

Bethany and I made it to Russia safely. We rushed to the train station and boarded the train 5 min. before it left. We were tired and ready to stretch out. We slept well and arrived in Nizhny at 4:00am. Our day started abruptly with an unexpected call at 7:30am. The day was very busy and filled with drama, but all I have to say is God was faithful and allowed us to see the people we needed to see and get everything done that needed to be done today. We finally made it to the orphanage around 6:00pm. They told us Dasha was nervous and excited. She told them she didn't want to go, but when they said they would call and tell us not to come, she said "What, no, no, no, I want them to come." We talked to her for awhile just to make her comfortable and she finally left, taking Bethany with her, to change her clothes. But when she returned she was crying and didn't want to leave. She sat on the director's lap for awhile while they reassured her it would be fine. I am sure it was very scary for her. We do not speak the same language and we are taking her from everything she knows. But on the way home she talked a lot to the translator and by the time we got to the hotel, she was doing pretty well. She and Bethany played Barbies, we made Plato sculptures, played UNO, and colored. We stayed up pretty late before we put her to bed. She was quite the staller, finding all kinds of things to do instead. Bethany let her listen to her i-pod to help her go to sleep.
I am going to go to bed soon to get some rest, but I am so thankful to God for blessing us with another daughter. It has gone smoothly so far and I have seen His grace and goodness the whole time. We can not pick up Dasha's passport until Tues. so we will just be hanging out in Nizhny for the next few days. Pray it will go well, that we can find a way to understand each other and continue to grow in our love for each other every day.

Cheri and Bethany off to Russia to bring Dasha home

Cheri and Bethany are en route to Russia as I am writing this. Their Visas came in only hours before they left for the airport. Thanks so much for your prayers for them.