Where the Heart is

If home is where the heart is, we're a confused family. We love being in Minnesota where most of our family lives and where we can easily visit them. We enjoy being nearer to friends and to the great people who make CSC go. We enjoyed being in Portland for a week with our oldest daughter and family. Part of our heart stayed there when we returned to St. Paul. And a big part of our heart is in Cebu with the children, workers and staff. We miss them so much and we miss the work that we do there. And a good number of the kids we said goodbye to in August will not be there when we return next year. After 31 years Cebu is home to us in many ways. We're confused!

We've got people all over the place who we love and want to be near. Its a little bit unsettling to live with hearts and minds on two continents. We care about what happens in Cebu but have to concentrate on our responsibilities and opportunities here in the United States.

One of the things that makes it tougher for us that financial realities here in the U.S. have made things difficult for the staff in Cebu. The U.S. office hasn't been able to send the full amount needed for the care of the children. We are dipping into reserves that are just about depleted. So we worry about the staff, workers and kids as they try to cut expenses. That pulls us back there emotionally.

I guess that having more than one home isn't all that bad of a problem to have. Although we are pulled in different directions, we have people on both sides of the ocean that we love and that love us. We have adopted children on this side, and families that we met when they came to pick up their kids. We have children in the four homes of CSC in Cebu who love us and are counting on us. We have parents who need us and don't get to see much of us for long periods of time. We have other family who we enjoy and love. We enjoy the apples, oranges and peaches, even while we miss the mangos, bananas and papaya. Such is the nature of our lives.