Coming up quick

Melissa tells me this blog entry should have been in this blog instead of Dennis'.  More people follow Dennis blog and part of the summer is Dennis getting to see his sister... but she's right.  This is really more of this blog unfolding.

Today I drafted the last letter we will send to each of the girls before hosting.  The letters are different but I am careful to word in a way that entire paragraphs can be shared (and translated once) as appropriate.  There will be one more letter they will be given on the plane over to here.

Melissa and I have been wrestling for months on how to do these last letters.  How do we introduce them?  How do we minimize fear and conflict?  How do we let each feel comfortable and not in competition? .... A long list of things... most we still don't have answers to and all we lay in God's hands.  We are even concerned what one of the orphanage directors might do if she finds out we are hosting two girls.  This is even more strange cause you normally aren't writing a kid before you host her for the first time.

Anyways, we decided that in the last non-hosting letter to each girl we would simply tell them we are hosting another girl too... more introductions in the hosting letter.  All in a very positive light... which I think it is once you get over any initial discomfort.  This way when it is found out on the plane or in Kyiv it won't be a complete shock.  On the other hand, we don't introduce some of the more complicated questions with no real way to provide answers... only uncertainty and fear.

Like for one of the girls discovering that Snezhana was hosted by us before and we've adopted her brother... frankly, only Snezhana herself can adequately explain that one and one day hopefully she'll tell me :)  Even for S, if she really does just wanted to be hosted twice to consider adoption... she'll probably worry that we've moved on.  Honestly we (with a translator) are the only ones that can answer that... but at least the girls should have time on the plane to get to know each other.

So we are like 5wks to go.  I've been coaching Ashley that she really needs to focus on being A's friend and making sure she never feels like a third wheel.  Snezhana is primarily here to visit Dennis and has a head start with us.  If Ashley is with A that will also allow Snezhana to fill some of the big sister role again with Dennis that Ashley owns now.

As my wife tells me... I over analyze everything :)