Home Sweet Home... by Aaron

Mom's new kitchen, ready for action!

Well I have never done this before, so bear with me. I just finished my first week of my Junior year. I have cleaning day tomorrow, and life is starting to be more like it was in the states. It's nice to be able to settle into a routine again, now that we are actually, truly, kind of, moved in completely (more or less). Dad hooked up our gas for the stove and hooked up the water heater for the kitchen sink. I am so happy (in a way), I was able to help to wash dishes with our hot water in our own sink! I feel more at home now that we have a kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom and a living room. Leading up to all this, though, has really helped our whole family's faith grow. I now can "take the hits as they come" a lot better, not always knowing what the day has in store for me. Just like Monday, when Julie and Victor said they would probably be bringing four new girls into the family, and it wasn't really a big surprise, knowing that the family could grow at any time. Then the next day, when we found out the girls would not join the family (maybe not yet, maybe never, only God knows), things just started to flow like normal. But we have learned to trust Him for our peace of mind. We have trusted him, and now I am just about as settled here as I was in the states. You would not believe how homey a place feels after Mom has cooked a meal at the stove for the first time. We ate at our table, which we also had not done yet, and then settled in our chairs with hot cocoa and coffee, and watched a movie someone sent with one of the work teams. Life has become, maybe not normal yet, but pretty dang close, and I have enjoyed the path leading up to this point. I know we aren't done here yet, and I know I will still have hard days after this, but still I just love saying, "Home sweet home!"