Happy Reunion

Mrs. Beaver:

Last night the kids and I had a sweet reunion with Mr. Beaver. We also happily welcomed home our oldest son, Joe, who had traveled with his dad to Los Angeles on this week-long business trip.

Our small airport has a great window where you can watch the planes land. The sun was just setting as we waited. My niece, Amanda, who arrived the day before to help us prepare for Tessa's wedding, was with us also.

We cheered as the plane touched town...

...and then made our way to another part of the airport where it's possible to watch through glass windows for the passengers to deplane.

Despite our best efforts to explain the reason for our visit to the airport, six-year-old Oksana still seemed a bit unnerved when we got there. Any visit to an airport has had this affect since we adopted her from Russia in late November. Yesterday she withdrew like a turtle pulling into her shell. When we looked at these photos after we got home, we noticed she had even quietly slipped into sucking her thumb, something she normally only does in bed at night.

It wasn't long before Oksana, and the rest of us, were rewarded for our wait by being reunited with the men in our family. Since this had been my first full week on my own since we became the parents of twelve, I felt as overjoyed at having my husband back as I used to feel when he was in the Navy when we were first married. Then his deployments as an engineer on a nuclear submarine would last a MUCH longer three months at a time, but I wasn't carrying the responsibility of any children. 

When we made our way to the baggage claim area, Oksana never left Joe's side. In the 3-1/2 months that our new children have been here, Joe and Oksana have developed a sweet bond. All her apprehension about being at an airport melted away when she was able to hold her oldest brother's hand.

Joe was equally happy. I was reminded again of his impassioned words when we first saw a photo of Oksana a little over a year ago, "She HAS to become ours!!!" Oksana is truly a gift to our family from the Lord, and Joe is keenly aware of the Lord's goodness in giving him this little girl as a sister.

We left the airport and went home to a DELICIOUS dinner of wild rice soup delivered earlier in the afternoon by our dear friend, Sandy. Sandy and several other friends and their teenage daughters came over to help us assemble numerous casseroles to feed the many people who will pass through our home during the upcoming wedding week.

Friends, your help was invaluable and the fellowship a blast. Thanks--you're so dear to me! Thank you for being Christ's hands and feet just as I reach a point of real need.

Thanks also to all who have prayed for me and the kids during this week of single parenting. Thanks also to those who recorded comments in response to my plea for prayer cover early in the week. Your prayers on my behalf were answered and then some! The Lord did above and beyond all I could have hoped for. The kids and I had a sweet week together showered in God's grace.