We LOVED having Alina here this summer. It was so much harder than I ever thought it would be, but SO worth it! I feel like I have a daughter on the other side of the world now. She will FOREVER be a part of our family. The first few weeks she was here was FILLED with baseball. Blake's All Star team ended up coming in second place in the state! WOOHOO! I think Alina got tired of all the baseball games, but at least now she knows what baseball is! LOL Baseball really seemed to be our way of life the first 3 weekends that she was here. So when baseball was finally over it was time for some family vacations!
Steve and I had decided long before Alina got here that we wanted to take her to the mountains and the beach while she was here. We first made a trip to the family mountain house. We had a really good time! We went to the Mast General Store (Alina got a moon pie and a grape Nehi), Lineville Caverns, and gem mining while we were there. It was also the first time my boys had been gem mining...they loved it. We sorted through all the gems and even got one cut for Alina. (I'm planning on having it set in a pendant for a necklace to give her when she comes back) It was also the first time my boys had been to Lineville Caverns. All the kids loved how cool it was inside the caverns and all the colors that they saw on the walls inside. I think Alina really enjoyed the fact that we took Bugsy with us to the mountains. :) She LOVES animals and was really attached to Bugsy the entire time she was here.
After our mountain trip...a few weekends later we headed to Oak Island. Can I just say I LOVE Oak Island. It's so quiet and the beach is beautiful! All the kids loved it there. We spent our mornings on the beach, swimming in the ocean and finding sea shells. We would eat a late lunch and then head into town to see what kind of fun we could find. It was a great relaxing weekend and just what we all needed. Alina and Davis even found sand dollars and little crabs while we were there!
For the 4th of July, we went to Lee Park in the Park (at Belk Tonowanda Park in Monroe). There was a great service with great friends...followed by great food and rides for the kids. Alina was a bit nervous about the rides since she gets motion sick...but had a great time with Laida and her other Russian friends. It really was a great thing for Lee Park to put on. I think we could have stayed there all day if it hadn't been so hot!
Then entire time Alina was here we would take her to church on Wednesday night and Sunday mornings (when we were in town) to learn the scripture. I always went with her and really enjoyed watching her learn in her own language. Nothing was more touching than that last Wednesday night when all the children from Belarus were there. They heard the story of Christ in Russian and then Pastor Chris Justice asked them who wanted Jesus in their life as their Lord and Savior. Alina was the first to raise her hand....and ALL the children did raise their hand. It was SO moving. It brought tears to my eyes and made me realize that the past 6 weeks were totally worth it. I made a difference in someones life just by opening my home to a child.
The days leading up to Alina going back home were really hard. We tried to focus on the shopping and packing and not the actual leaving. The night before was extremely hard. Alina kept saying "No sleepy, No Belarus". It broke my heart. I know she was ready to see her mother, but I really don't think she was ready to leave America and get back to the reality of Belarus. Even while we were packing she would pull out her clothes that she brought from home, smell them and say "no pretty, trash". I ended up washing everything she brought with her before sending it home and packed her suitcase as tight as I could. We sent home a heavy winter coat, 2 pair of tennis shoes, boot and LOTS of clothes. Her suitcase was so full that I had to take things out just to meet the weight requirements for the airline. :( The day we went to the airport was FULL of emotion. I was ok until I saw some of the older kids that were going back crying and then I lost it. It was so sad to see my daughter go. We went out to dinner with friends after leaving the airport, which was a great decision. After we left the restaurant was when it got hard. Blake started crying before we got home and ended up crying himself to sleep that night. He kept saying he missed Alina. It was so sad. I couldn't go into Alina's room for over a week and when I finally did, I cried while I was cleaning. It was hard to get back in our normal routine after she left...it still feels like there is something missing. I think about her everyday and wonder if she is liking school and what she is doing. We have talked on the phone one time and I've sent several packages, but it's just not the same. I pray that we will be able to bring her back next year. It was a blessing for us all to have her here. I think we helped her in more ways than we know and she made us all grow as a family.
