We made it!

After four airplanes and a few days, we have arrived! Leif put it mildly in the last post about having more stuff with kids. In reality, we were a traveling circus. EVEN AFTER we checked in our four big bags. With our carry-ons alone, we were a traveling circus. It's amazing we didn't lose anything. That's just one of the ways God provided for us. The girls were champion travelers. Ella still had an inflamed ear after an infection a couple of weeks ago, and we were anticipating pain and tears. But she was as happy as could be. On the overseas flight she didn't cry AT ALL and on the other three, she cried about 2 minutes each. We were entering into the travel already worn and ragged. I am SO thankful for God's mercy in this!!



Here's Ella in a little floor bassinet on the overseas flight. Mostly she was in my arms the whole time, which made her SO HAPPY. I just put her in the bassinet to let her kick.

This baby had us so worried the week leading up to our departure. She was eating really poorly for over a week. Since she's such a big baby (and content baby!), it was harder to recognize right away just how serious it was. But it got so bad that Leif had to pack and move all of our stuff out of our apartment by himself (my dad helped moved/carry the big stuff). And I just attended to Ella. I was sick, too... I think it was from worry actually. The week before coming back is always so hard. Hard to say goodbyes, hard to take care of details like moving and getting rid of cars, hard to pack for everything you'll need in the next 2 years, etc.



I had prayed a few weeks ago that God would help to prepare us in every way, and I specifically prayed that He'd help to increase our trust in Him and that He'd prepare us spiritually to come back. I know that He did just that. God brought in our needed financial support in about 3 weeks time, He brought in all of Ella's paperwork with less than a week to spare, and He put us on our knees about Ella's health, knowing that we were dependent on Him to heal her for us to be able to leave in time. In the middle of it all, He gave me this verse: "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead" and "On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." (2 Cor 1:9b,10b,11) I was certainly reminded of the power of prayer!

God reminded me of His heart in little ways. One example is that I wanted to find a Dad doll for a dollhouse we brought overseas for Anneka. It was down to the wire with time (and that wasn't a priority) so I figured I'd just have to let that one go. Well, our neighbors in our apartment had a yard sale for just a couple of hours, and they had dollhouse furniture and a Dad doll!! God used that to remind me that if He cares about little things like Dad dolls, then of course He cares about things like Ella's health. And how much more does He care about the eternal parts of people!! I love how He shows us His heart.



We did something in Moscow that we've never done before, but I'm SO GLAD we did! We had an 11 hour layover and got a hotel room for the day (after we went through passport control and checked our bags, it was about 5 or 6 hours at the hotel). We all slept and it helped us to be ready for the final- and worst- flight of the whole trip (from Moscow to Ulan Ude). The things you do with kids are a lot different than what you do without them!