See you in Vienna

That is Bethany's and my new phrase, as that will be the next place we see each other in a matter of flights, layovers and hours. Tomorrow morning I head back towards Romania. It has been a great trip home visiting friends and family, shopping, reading, relaxing, and getting refreshed. I definitely did not get to see everyone that I wanted to see, or even talk with everyone I wanted to talk to (the cell phone thing didn't work as well as I thought it would), but I still had good times. I am ready to see my kids again, and ready to have my partner in crime (I mean ministry) with me finally. I'll write again sometime after I cross the ocean and get settled back in. Pray against the affects of jetlag (I have to get up in less than 6 hours, so I'm not really getting a good start), good weather, and for my baggage to arrive this time.

News from the homefront

Three very reliable sources (2 moms and the house director) have informed me that all is going well at the houses. Of course I don't think they would tell me if things were going horribly, but I trust them. As for me the Romanian language is slowly exiting my memory bank and I miss everyone dearly, but all of that is worth being here in the States and with my family. I have finally settled down in Ohio and am starting to catch up on the sleep I've been missing out on the past 10 months. I've done more shopping than I am proud to admit, but what can a girl do when there really isn't shopping to be done when I am in Romania. My mom's sister and brother and their families and my Gran are coming up this week for Thanksgiving. And I will see most of my dad's brothers and sisters and their families this week (they live in the area). Tomorrow I am sharing with a children's Sunday School class at a church that has been collecting clothing for the children and donated their VBS missions funds to Livada. I guess I need to go figure out what I am going to talk about.
Keep praying for our kids:
to have hearts for Jesus
to be trained up in righteousness
to be healed from their pasts

Deep in the heart of Texas

It's been gooood to be "home." I hadn't been on the ground 10 minutes in Lubbock when my West Texas accent-on-a few-words kicked in. I sadly didn't get to see or spend time with everyone that I would have liked to, but I greatly enjoyed seeing those I did. My favorite greeting was when Wesley Trook (3 1/2) ran across the restaurant and called out my name when he saw me. It was sweet. Tonight I am in Fort Worth staying with an intern and my friend from this summer Elizabeth. We did some shopping and visited with Sarah the Livada missions coordinator and this evening I had dinner with some church friends that are in the DFW area now. Tomorrow morning I head back to Ohio to spend almost two weeks with my family.
I am so thankful that God worked out this trip when He did. I was so in need of some refueling and refreshing and just to be loved on and that is how it's been. I was also in need of Mexican food and am happy to say that I have eaten it 3 times in the last 4 days...no, I don't think that's going overboard.

Thoughts from 37,000 feet and below

I woke up at 4:45 this morning ready to start the day--jet lag stinks. It's actually not as bad as I thought it would be, but let's just say it's 3:30 pm and I am ready for bed. Here are some other thoughts I have had as I have travelled the last few days from Romania to Vienna to JFK to Cincinnati and then to Jacksonville.
*I would support any research related to teleportation. Nine hours on a plane is just too long.
*I know that I have adjusted to the Romanian culture when I am excited about the lunch meat and bell pepper with bread for breakfast on the airplane.
*I know that I have adjusted too well to the Romanian culture when I save the paper Starbucks bag from the airport (hey it's good for transporting things when I am walking through town AND it's cute).

I am just taking things easy, shopping and getting pampered. It's sweet.

Some stories from fall vacation

Meet Daniel Simon. Though in this picture he looks really sweet, his behavior is quiet perplexing. Pray for him to be responsive to discipline and for him to make connections with adults in the house. Pray for patience and endurance and overflowing love to help the moms and educators to persevere.
Sweet Claudia is learning to write her name with sidewalk chalk. Pray for her and all the children to continue to press on in learning. Pray for them to catch up and for the educational gaps to be filled in.
Homework time is a little more difficult on the 5th and 7th grade level. Pray for our kids to do their homework first of all, and for them to understand what they are learning. Only 1st-4th grades had vacation this week. Running through flashcards with Becky turned into an hour long competition with multiple pages of math problems.
The youngest and oldest together-Daniela 5 and Simona 15. The kids' favorite place to play is the soccer field down the road. Even if they are not playing, it is just good to get off our property for a while.