Lyuda returned to Ukraine last week, at the end of winter hosting. I didn’t blog too much this winter, so I figured I’d do a quick recap and share some photos.

While we were all very excited to have Lyuda her again, it was not an exciting hosting in the day-to-day. This time it was more about living normal life and having Lyuda here for that. It was, at times, definitely boring, definitely cabin fever with four kids at home over winter break.

However, seeing Lyuda’s gratitude for our simple life reminded me how much we have to offer. Our home is far from spotless, but it’s warm and has indoor plumbing. The food isn’t gourmet, but it’s plentiful and lots of options. She shares a room with Lena, but she has a warm bed and a safe place to store her possessions. She will have three siblings, which means our attention is divided between them, but it also means that there’s always someone to play with or give you a hug.

One of her first days here, we went to Tallgrass Prairie. It was their annual Christmas celebration there. We also hiked for a bit.

Another day, we went and made s’mores at a local park. I wanted to grab a Christmas card photo, and I thought this would be a fun activity to center it around.

She doesn’t usually enjoy sweet foods, but she liked her first s’more.

She dotes on him… and he loves her.

It was a truly uneventful hosting… and it was good. She experienced our ordinary days. She drove by her future school and took English lessons. We did grocery shopping, and cooking, and all sorts of boring things. To her, it wasn’t so important what we were doing, but that we were doing it together.

See you in 9 days, Lyuda.