Hard

Today was probably the hardest day in our hosting journey. It was the first day that I had several tasks I needed to accomplish to welcome family for our annual Christmas dinner. Which means it was the first day with no structure and my attention was diverted much of the day. Not an ideal situation for our sweet visitor.

Leading up to this hosting experience, I prepped like I was about to have a baby. Deep cleaning, meals prepped and frozen, all Christmas shopping completed and wrapped, etc., etc. You get the picture. I obsessed over the details. So, our first several days I was available and engaged. (Tired, but engaged.) Nothing to distract me but laundry and heating meals. It was wonderful. I enjoyed Ira and I most definitely enjoyed the time with my own three boys. A very refreshing way to prepare for Christmas.

However, today I was reminded that we MUST have structure over here and firm boundaries must be in place. With the language barrier there is no room for wishy washy. My face and body language need to communicate what the boundaries are. The same is true for my own children and they've had years under our roof to learn and understand what is expected of them. So pray for patience as we teach Irina. We were advised to not treat them as a guest for the three weeks they are here, but to parent them. As far as we know, she's never had a functioning parent. Can you imagine? So as we step into that role temporarily I am finding it to be quite challenging. Please pray for wisdom, endurance and reliance on the Lord as we invest our energy in this little girl.

Before I jump under the covers and get some much needed rest, here are two last nuggets of info:

* My sister-in-law made a special Ukrainian Christmas cake for dessert (it took 4.5 hours to make!!!) in Irina's honor. Irina loved it and told me what each layer was as she ate it. Or at least I think that is what she was saying as she spoke in Russian. Thank you Chrislyn!

* We love to listen to music in our house and the boys love to sing along. The first time Irina witnessed this was priceless. She looked from one boy to another in amazement and watched them intently. Now, whenever we enter a room she is eager to get the tunes going. She seems to love to listen to the boys sing and I'm so thankful my shy guys are relaxed enough to be themselves.