We made it to Virginia

We made it to Virginia!!
Jake drove two days with the boys and Kota. I flew with the girls. All the kids did great with the travel. some of you may not know that Jake's sister Ellie is living with us so we were so blessed to have Sheila and Buzz help her move here which in turn was very very helpful to us. I got a bad viral eye infection two weeks before we had to leave for VA and it was bad stuff. It continued into our time traveling and when we got here, it actually got worse. I had to go to the ER our first Sunday here and miss church. I was left with scaring on my cornea and was told that it was serious and that I may loose my sight. As I sat there in the doctors office I started to bawl and I thought of not seeing God's creation anymore, about not seeing my children's faces as they grew, thinking how soon could I learn braille so I could read the bible. I had a lot of thoughts just flying through my mind. The Lord impressed on my heart that even if the worst was to happen and I would loose my sight, that one day I would see His face. I clung to that as I went through a very scary week as we waited to see what would happen. I could not read, I could not drive and I could not really unpack. Sheila just jumped right in and helped so very much. The Lord knew we would need them with us during this time. So after some time my eyes have improved. My left eye is 20/30 and my right eye is 20/60. The specialist says it may take two months for my eyes to heal. There are other options if it does not improve. I am so thankful for the healing that has happened. Thank you to any of you that prayed for us. During this time I would say to God, this is too much. I would have times of peace and time of panic, but through it all God had a purpose. I had another chance to trust Him and to battle my sin of unbelief.
*Virginia is very beautiful. It has endless places to run, hike, and bike. Ellie and I have been exploring the trails.

*The church here is such a blessing. We had friends bringing us wonderful food during our struggles and it was such a blessing. Church has been great. WE are loving the preaching and the fellowship.

*We found a college student from Ethiopia to tutor Adanech and Abreham in Amharic, we are so excited. WE went to a park last Friday and there was an entire soccer field of guys from Ethiopia speaking Amharic and Addie and Abreham just lit up. Addie walked up to a couple girls and asked them if they were from Ethiopia and they said yes and got really excited and said we can tell you are too. They all started hugging and kissing on the children. Addie got to practice Amharic with the girls and they sang some together. Two of the girls kept thanking me for adopting the children, she got all teary eyed. She said, she could not believe that we adopted all three of them. Addie asked one of the girls, Did your mom put you in an orphanage? It broke my heart. We hope to see them again soon.

*We started home school and there really are no words to express the reality of the work ahead. AS we go through the days and we not only work on school, but character issues and talk about Christ in every situation. I think how I could not do that if they were away from me all day. I am not committing to home school until graduation. I will commit a semester at a time. We will see what the Lord does. Jake is doing a lot and he is such a better teacher then I am. Addie loves school and would go all day if we would do it with her. Marya loves school too and she gets the most spanks. Abreham, is a perfectionist and is very timid and hard on himself. He has come a long way in a short time though. I am also doing some stuff with Ezra and Petros too. They are so funny. Petros turned three this month and is growing and growing some more. I am getting the chance once again to trust God and face some sin that comes up as I am working with the kids.

HIGHLIGHTS
*Ellie has made us some amazing food!!!!
*the trees are starting to change color and it is amazing
*the Lord provided a home for us in a way that the only explanation is it was all Him
*The kids are transitioning beautifully
*The Lord is continuing to convict us and push us as a family
*Jake has many coffee shops to choose from
*There is an Ethiopian resturant here yum!!

love love
Jen