I have been up since 2:15 this morning. My body is having a difficult time adjusting to the new time zone and I am feeling so overwhelmed that I am not sleeping well. My list of what I need to do continues to grow to the point that I cross one thing off and add 5 more. I am asking for prayer for my stress level and for God to work through me quickly to accomplish all that needs to get done. I want to cherish my time with my children before I leave on Christmas Day to go back to Ukraine. Please pray specifically that God will help me prioritize what is most important, allowing me to have many hours of fun with my children. Jason put up the Christmas tree yesterday and our children were so excited. The tree has lights and the decorations the children have made this year. I know the children are a little disappointed that I am not willing to get out the boxes of decorations but they are being very understanding. This will truly be the most simple Christmas in the history of the Aldridge family. Another specific prayer concern is packing for the return trip and what I can bring to a school of 30 orphan students who have aged-out at 16. My goal is to bring them warm winter items and practical gifts. The students have received a scholarship to live at the school and they get a small stipend for food. Unfortunately, the stipend does not usually cover enough food costs for the month so they are in need of daily items. They have no families who will give them gifts or visit them this Christmas. This venture has taken on a life of its own ever since connecting with a U.S. host mom in Ukraine. She has already shipped many practical gifts to give them and I will add more items and buy things in Ukraine. We will deliver these gifts the day after we get our final court decree. The school is located in the same village where our girl’s grandmother lives. We plan on visiting the grandmother to say goodbye before we go back to Kiev. Please also pray for our girl as she waits for her mother (me) to return for her. Two of her friends/roommates have left to be hosted in America. She has one friend/roommate left so we are praying she is having quality time with that special “friend sister”. Pray for our girl’s health since her dorm is still under quarantine and pray for my health as my body is trying to fight off what seems to be the beginnings of a cold. Both of the families who are hosting two friends/roommates have been in contact with me already! Praise the Lord. I have been emailing the one family since Saturday and spoke with the other family yesterday. What a blessing to be able to share with the families about orphanage life for these children. I am thanking the Lord that the families received the letters I wrote to them and that they wanted to reach out to us. It was so amazing to talk to one of the girls yesterday on the phone! She sounded so happy! Please pray for these children to feel loved and cherished by these host families and pray for the host families to be led by God about how to respond to His calling. All children deserve a loving family and we ask for concentrated prayer for these host families and the children they are hosting. It is so amazing to see how God works! We are excited to FaceTime with the girls once I am back in Ukraine with our girl! We have been praying that our girl would be able to maintain some contact with her special “friend sisters” and we feel that God may be answering that prayer with two of her friends! Our God is truly a loving God who cares about every detail of our lives!