Starting New in Dallas

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23

As I sit down to write today, I can’t seem to find the words to begin. I’m thinking about how very blessed I am and how good my God has been to me. I’m looking at my kids running around the house with their dad playing tag, laughing and giggling. I have ingredients out on the counter to make chocolate chip cookies with my girls, I was able to enjoy fellowship at church this morning with my half awake husband (he works nights but pushes through with no nap because he loves the Lord and knows how important church is to me and our babies), and I’m going to enjoy a cup of coffee tonight on the couch with my husband before bed. Today I’m counting my blessings, because life wasn’t always this way for me. But before I dive back into my story, I feel like someone needs to hear this: God loves you right where you are! He sees you and hasn’t forgotten you. He knows the struggles you’re facing and wants you to know that His mercy is new for you today! He loves you as His child, and my friend that is powerful. I promise you that the season that you are in now won’t last forever. If you’re going through a trying time, don’t go through it alone. While I may not be able to relate to all that you are going through, I’m an ear to listen and have a heart to help. 

I remember landing in Dallas, Texas. I stepped off the plane wearing red leggings, a dress that had red long sleeves, and a pink and white sweater on top. Texas was so much hotter than Russia and I wasn’t liking it. I began sweating almost instantly. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. It was late in the evening when we arrived at Crystal and Jessie’s house. I gasped as we pulled up to a beautiful white house with tons of land and a fenced in backyard. All that ran through my mind was, “man, these people are rich.” To communicate, Crystal and Jessie had given me a Russian – English dictionary. When I needed something or had something to share, I would point to a word in Russian and they would read the English translation and try their best to give me what I needed. When they needed to communicate, they would point to the English word and I would translate to Russian. Before we got out of the car, Crystal tried using the dictionary to explain to me that great grandma and grandpa lived with us. 

Walking into the house, I looked to the right and saw grandma and great grandma in the kitchen. Grandma quickly rushed over to give Josh and I a hug while great grandma sat in her wheelchair. They gave me the biggest stuffed animal. I was so overwhelmed with how big the house was. I had never seen anything like it before. After meeting my grandma and great grandma, Crystal and Jessie walked us up the stairs. We saw Josh’s room first; it was massive. One half was our playroom and the other half was Josh’s actual bedroom. It was already filled with lots of toys for us to play with. My attention went straight to a Barbie tent house. I couldn’t wait to play in it. It was late in the evening, so they put Josh to bed pretty quickly and then walked me to my room. Crystal and Jessie showed me around my room and asked if I liked it. Crystal told me to pick out my pajamas from the closet. For something that would seem so simple to many, this was an overwhelming task for me. I had never seen so many clothes in my life. After a few minutes, I settled on a pink dress with Cinderella on the front and a pretty skirt at the bottom. I was so excited! As I hopped into bed that night, I stepped on the bottom of the skirt because it was so long. I absolutely loved it. This is one of those items that I clung to for years! My twin bed was high, but I managed to crawl up that night and snuggle in. I was scared, nervous, and anxious! It was my first night alone without other girls to comfort me.  I couldn’t fall asleep right away, so I just lay awake in my bed, looking around my new room. After a while, I heard arguing coming from down the hall, so I walked to check it out. I remember that Crystal slapped Jessie, so I ran back to my room, locking the door behind me. I was so afraid that they were going to be abusive. Crystal and Jessie came down the hall and tried to open the door, but I was afraid to unlock it. All I could hear were loud mumbles coming from the other side of the door; at this point, I still spoke no English. Crystal kept shouting  a bunch of English words and shaking the doorknob, so I finally let them in and ran back to my bed, curled up like a ball. I assume she was asking me why I locked the door, but I was scared and didn’t have my dictionary to translate. They did try to calm me down before eventually leaving the room. Nothing was mentioned about this the next day.

The next morning, Crystal made me eggs and Russian tea. I know her intentions were pure, but it was not at all the type of tea I drank in Russia. Jessie and Crystal talked with Jessie’s mom and grandma at the table. I finished my breakfast and then went upstairs to play. Other than the first night, things weren’t off to a terrible start; actually, things were kind of fun in the beginning. I remember my first Christmas was amazing! Josh and I were blessed with so many gifts. As the weather warmed and spring came, Crystal taught me how to garden. She loved roses and she enjoyed teaching me how to take care of them. I enjoyed this as well. We also had so many goats to take care of. It was like a mini farm. A few weeks into living with my new family, Crystal took me to a Russian translator. Crystal wanted to know how I was adjusting to my new home and wanted me to know that I would be starting school soon. Shortly after this, Crystal began homeschooling me. She started with the basics, like the abc’s. I struggled; Crystal became frustrated with me. I was so far behind in my schooling, and this was an area that I felt defeated. I felt like I wasn’t good enough. To add on to this, Joshua was little, so he took up most of her attention. 

Overall, I was settling into my new life. I thought of my brother back in Russia often and of my birth parents that I had to leave behind. I missed them, but I was trying my best to adjust!

Thank you so much for your continued support as Phil and I walk this journey of blogging. Our prayer is that God uses it to touch you. Our next post will dive deeper into my life with Crystal and Jessie and my eventual return to Russia. The next post will be Sunday, February 26.

Some pictures from today’s adventures making chocolate chip cookies 🙂