We made it thru Day One!

Edgars woke up bright and early his first morning in America! He had a great day! We went to the free summer movie and saw Yours Mine and Ours which was really cute. Then we went shoe shopping. Edgars found some Hummer underwear and that made his day!!
We discovered that Edgars medicine is working to help him grow in one area. His FEET! He has grown 2 shoe sizes since Christmas!!! We went to McDonalds and Edgars ate two hamburgers, some chicken nuggets and fries. I took him for a much needed haircut. Then when we came home, there was no slowing down. It was outside to play in the slip and slide, the sprinkler and ride our bikes around the block. Then cook dinner, then eat, then off to Vacation Bible School! I should lose 10 lbs by the time he leaves! he he!
Also, another praise - God is so Good - Edgars' VBS teacher is also a hygenist at the dentist where my kids go. I had called to see if they would see him and they said they could clean his teeth for $110! I was like that is a discount?? Well she talked to one of the dentists and he has agreed to clean his teeth and do any work during his lunch hour for FREE! First the endocrinologist and now the dentist! God is really taking care of us!!
I have found (so far) that hosting is easier the second time around. We didn't really have any getting to know you period. It is as if he never left. Someone asked me the other day if it was going to make it worse that we brought him and we can't adopt him. But the way I look at it...I would rather bring him twice a year for 3-4 weeks than never at all...
Keep praying! It is obviously working!
Love,
Krista

He's Here!

We got to the airport about 3:15 today and the kids did not come up the escalator until about 6:30! We had no idea where they were and why they were late. Patrick and Morgan were VERY restless asking every other minute "Where is he?". Finally someone shouted "There they are!" Edgars saw me and came running and jumped into my arms! It was a wonderful moment!!!
He talked the entire way to dinner. We asked him where he wanted to eat and he said "Chicken and Cheese". I was like Where? He said "You know the big mouse?" Finally it occured to me - Chuck E Cheese!! We talked him out of there, promising to go there another night. We ended up at Golden Corral instead. Edgars told me that he had 3 cups of coffee, 3 cokes and a Mr Pibb today. That explains why he has been HYPER!!! After we ate dinner we came home and Edgars reunited with Rusty, Shiloh and Bo. It took us a while to wind down but after a bubble bath and Bible story he was ready to go to bed. He didn't want to do his shots before bed. He told me he has not done them in 7 days because they hurt badly. I hope this endocrinologist can give us some answers!
Tomorrow we will get some new shoes (the ones we bought him at Christmas are well past time to throw out) and a hair cut! He said he wanted an American Haircut! (I'm not sure what the difference is, but whatever! )
Keep us in your prayers and especially the other families who are getting acquainted with children they have never met and speak little to no English!
Love,
Krista

Women of Faith

I went to the Women of Faith conference this weekend and it could not have come at a better time. It was just the encouragement I needed to prepare me for the next four weeks. I hope I caught some Contagious Joy! All the music and speakers were amazing but Avalon sang a song that just really spoke to my heart. It is called Orphan of God...The chorus goes something like this...
There are no strangers, there are no outcasts, there are no orphans of God. So many have fallen but Hallelujah...there are NO orphans of God!

Sometimes I get so frustrated that we can't adopt Edgars. It breaks my heart to think of him alone 6000 miles away and I can not wrap my arms around him. That song was a reminder to me that even though he has been orphaned by his biological parents...Hallelujah...he is not an Orphan of God!!!!! And as hard as it is to imagine, God loves him even more than we do!

Pray for us...3 more days...and then at least for four weeks we can wrap our arms around him and fill him up with love before that dreaded day when we have to say goodbye again.
Love,
Krista

Praise!!

We have been praying to find an endocrinologist who would be willing to see Edgars this summer and we have finally made contact with one! In a previous blog I had mentioned that a lady at our fundraising yard sale gave us the name of an endocrinologist who would see Edgars. Well, God brought that lady to our yard sale for a reason. After many phone calls and messages Gene finally got thru to a lady at their office. Dr Shultz at Pediatric Endocrine Associates is eager and willing to see Edgars this summer. In fact he has an appointment on July 5th. She even felt sure that they could see him for FREE! This is a HUGE Answer to prayer! We have some obstacles to overcome to make the visit the most that it can be. First and foremost we have to get his medical records from Latvia and somehow get them translated. They need to know results of some specific tests in order to determine if the medicine he is taking is working. We are so thrilled that they are willing to see him. Now we need to pray that we can get the answers they need in order to treat him.
Thank you all for your prayers! Keep sending them! They are working!
Love,
Krista

8 days to go!

Time is flying by and Edgars will be here in only 8 days!! We are trying to finish up preparing for him to arrive. We just have to make some signs for the airport and go grocery shopping and we will be ready! His favorite food is Shishkabobs so we are going to have that the night after he arrives. If this time is anything like December, all he is going to want to do is go to bed when he gets here the first night! Now that Gene has made that trip, he completely understands! Food or anything else is the farthest thing from their minds when they get off that plane. Sleep is the number one priority! Speaking of Gene's trip to Latvia, we finally uploaded those pictures onto our photoshow website. You can view the pictures in the Spring 2006 gallery. The photoshow link is to the right of this posting.

We had our final hosting meeting on Saturday night and it went well. We got to meet the other families who are hosting. Unlike last time we hosted, the other families are not from our church. They are also all new to the hosting experience. We got to share with them a little bit of our experience and let them know that even though it is not always easy, it is very worth it.

Karina, Edgars sister, is flying out today to Belize on a mission trip. Please keep her in your prayers. She will not get to see Edgars this summer, but we are hoping she can at least talk to him a few times. She is also looking into getting a webcam so they can talk via internet and see each other. If you have not heard of Skype, it is wonderful! You can talk to other people who have Skype for free and if you have a webcam you can see each other. If they don't have Skype, the long distance rates are very cheap. Skype is free to download and we spent about $20 for a webcam and a microphone. Edgars home has this set up also and we are able to talk to him and see him! It is very neat!

Please pray for us as we prepare for his arrival. Pray that the children and chaperones have a safe trip. Pray especially for Edgars that he will find a forever family while he is here!! He needs a Mommy and Daddy to call his own!

Thanks for going with us on this journey!
Krista

Our Yard Sale was a success!

We had our yard sale today and it was very successful! Thank you to all of you who donated! We raised about $350 to help with the cost of Edgars trip! We are excited but also GLAD that it is over. We are tired and hot!! Several people inquired about the hosting program. People were generous and told us to keep the change. One guy bought $7 worth of stuff and gave a $20 and told us to keep the change. It is so neat to see the kindness of complete strangers!
Also, we met a lady who referred us to a pediatric endocrinologist who she feels sure will see Edgars. Gene is going to call the doctor on Monday. Pray she is willing to see him for reduced fees or even better - No fees!
Thanks for all of your prayers! We will keep you updated as things happen - 17 more days....
Love,
Krista

Welcome to our Blog!

Hi Everyone!
Gene and I figured we would jump on the blogging bandwagon to keep you posted about our hosting experience. You can check back here frequently for updates.
I will give a little background for those of you who weren't with us thru our experience so far.
After much prayer we were led to host an 11 year old boy named Edgars for three weeks last Christmas thru a program at our church. (You can see pictures on our photoshow website)
When we signed up to host, we had no idea what an impact it would have on our family. When that little boy came up the escalator at the airport, we fell in love. Of course there were hard times. There was the morning that we couldn't figure out what he wanted to eat for breakfast. There were the times he tested us to try to see if we meant it when we said that we would love him no matter what. There were the times he got mad and stormed to his room because he didn't like our rules. But there were also the times when he made us laugh so hard our sides hurt. Like when he hid in the laundry basket and scared me to death. And when he got to ride in a Hummer, his favorite car. There were also the times he made us cry because we could tell how hard his 11 years of life have been and how much he wants a family. Then there was the first time he prayed at night before we went to bed. We don't have a clue what he said, but it made us cry anyway. We got to watch him reunite with his sister who he had not seen in 2 years which was awesome. And then before we knew it the day came when we had to say goodbye. When he walked away Patrick called after him "Goodbye, You were the best friend I ever had". I nearly lost it. After only three weeks it felt like my child was being ripped from my arms when they took him onto that airplane. You see we thought that when Edgars came that we would change his life. Instead, he changed ours. And we have not been the same since.
We knew going into the hosting that I was too young to adopt Edgars. Latvian law states that both parents must be at least 18 years older than the child they are adopting. We tried anyway. Helen, Edgars Children's Home director at Hope for Children went to the Dept of Family and Children in Latvia but sadly they declined our request. We knew that God has called us to take care of Edgars even if we have to be his family from 6000 miles away. We have called him every week since he left. He looks forward to the calls and so do we. He breaks our heart every time when he tells us he misses us and he wants to come to America.
When noone signed up to host Edgars for the summer hosting we knew that God had called us to bring him. Although we were sad in one way that no one who COULD adopt him was going to host him, we were excited in another way that we get to spend 4 weeks with him!
We are praying that this summer a family will come forward who will want to adopt Edgars. He is a wonderful little boy who has so much to offer.
He found out this week that he is coming with us and he is very excited! All he can talk about is coming to America! He wants to eat Shishkabobs! That was his favorite food when he was here! He ate more that one night than he ate the entire time he was here.
We are having a fundraising yardsale tomorrow to help raise funds. Thank you to the MANY MANY people who donated lots and lots of items! We are so blessed to have wonderful friends!
Also, we found out yesterday that someone has covered the entire remaining cost of the hosting. What a HUGE blessing!!! We do not know who donated the money but we are praying that God blesses them abundantly!!!!!
Edgars flight will arrive around 4:45 on June 27. We can't wait to wrap our arms around him!! Please continue to pray that God will prepare us and him. Also, we are trying to find an endocrinologist who is willing to see Edgars at a reduced price. Please pray that we can find one. We believe the daily shots he is taking may be unnecessary. We would love to get him some more tests to see for sure.
We love you all!
Krista