The Red Eared Slider Turtle

Introducing our newest Family member:

Tom the Turtle. Our resident zoo keeper loves him dearly. She found him in the yard on Sunday afternoon. Since then she has been "googling" how to take care of a red eared slider turtle. I have no idea how he got near our water faucet outside, but I'm glad he is here. Isn't he cute? It looks like he is smiling for the camera. Or maybe he is smiling because he is being LOVED by a little girl who wants to be a zoo keeper someday. Or maybe he is smiling because he thinks she will actually GET him the designer home for 1,000.00 she googled on the internet; Not on his little red eared slider turtle life!

THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER DO!

1. Paint your sister's eyelashes with nail polish while she is sleeping!

2. When mother inquires as to WHY sister has woken up crying, "my eye,my EYE"!
You stand and look unaware of WHY her eye MIGHT be burning......

3. When sister says, "she got nail polish in my eye, you say, "Not IN your eye, just on
your eye lashes!"

3. When mother sends you to daddy to get the emergency eye wash, you go ask daddy
"Do you have any eye drops?" rather calmly!.....

Yep, this was the scenario at our house this a.m.

Sarah decided Erika would look pretty with Purple Eyelashes.

Daddy handled Sarah so very well. She was hiding out in her room feeling terrible.
It wasn't her intent to harm her sister. She was shocked when sister started crying.
Even more shocked when I grabbed sister from bed and started pouring water on her eyes and then said, GO GET DADDY NOW! Tell him we need the eye drops FAST!
(He has an emergency eye wash kit due to chemicals he uses regularly, including acetone, which is what nail polish contains)
So daddy pulled Sarah to his lap and she was crying. Then she was getting mad because she didn't want to be held right then, she wanted to run and hide in shame.
Daddy so wisely said, "I love you, even when you do things that are foolish." "I love you, even when you are mad." "What you do, doesn't change how I feel about you."
She melted.

The victim,Erika, is fine. Her eye was washed out with a special solution for about 15 minutes and then we put in a lubricant.

All is back to normal, what ever that is..... and, we have new knowledge about nail polish. It is for FINGERNAILS ONLY!

One of the things we easily forget with our girls and are reminded of regularly, is that they are not their "age", in knowledge or emotion. They are much younger.
Sarah just turned 9, and did something that a toddler might do. She missed being taught about "nail polish". Her response was also younger than her age.
Jumping from, "big girls" "tween girls" to "toddler girls" isn't always easy and is sometimes a maze to get through. Some behaviors can be puzzling.

We will get there with each of them. The journey to adulthood with any child can be harrowing. :)

This journey is so rewarding and scary and fun and crazy and we are the luckiest parents on earth. :)

And we are very glad that Erika can see. :)

The Birthday Events!

The Birthday Girlies:







Sarah, Present Hunting:


There is always time to dance inbetween looking for presents....


Every year, we have a hide and go seek present event! Here is Erika finding her present....


Erika received a watch from Gramma and Grampa. She loves her watch because this year she learned how to tell time!




Sarah Loved getting a new Ring for her birthday!



This is the "CAKE" Sarah Requested. No cake, just Chocolate and Strawberries with Candles.... It tasted WONDERFUL!

Water Gun Fight With Grampa

This Is What It Looks Like To Be 9 All At The Same Time!

Father's Day

Father's day has come once again, and it was a wonderful time of visiting with Mike's mom and dad, going out for BBQ and just enjoying each other's company.

Father's are so important in the lives of children. In our society, a father's role is underestimated.

I am so thankful for Mike as a father. I would not be able to fulfill what I do as a mother, without his willingness to be the father that he is to our girls.

Our girls grew up without a father (or a mother) for many years. It has been fun to see the relationship between them and Mike develop. He is an awesome father to them and they love him and shower him with kisses and hugs....

Today was also special, in that , PAPA DIMA was able to speak at our church about his ministry to orphans in Ukraine. What a wonderful time for his visit. He is the "Papa" to countless orphans and hospitalized children, and he was able to come to America and be here on "Father's Day". They do not celebrate Father's day in Ukraine.
His message how the Lord has made his ministry possible, and the evident love and care for the orphans was an inspiration for All of us who attended.

Finally, even those of us who will never have an "earthly" father, yet have trusted in Christ for life, can celebrate their Heavenly Father. We are ALL adopted son's and daughters in Christ Jesus. Our heavenly father, nurtures and cares for us and watches over us, and is such a wonderful example for ALL fathers to follow.

Do I dare?

OF course I do! :)

Jumproping Anna

Jumproping Sarah

Anna

"Here mama, can you keep these?"

They were the pictures of her bio mom.

"You are the best mama I have ever had, so I really don't need these any more."

:)

We repeat this process about every 6 mos. Anna's pictures of her bio mom stay on her shelf, she looks at them, then she turns them to face the wall, then she put them in a drawer, then she returns them to me to put in my drawer, and then in a few months, it won't surprise me if she says, "Mom, you know those pictures of T, is it ok if I look at them?"

I smile and give them back. :)

THIS time, however, is the first time she ever said, "You are the best mama I have ever had."

It must be odd having had so many mamas. I'm so thankful to be her forever mama,
and not just one in a long list of "mamas".

On her birthday in November, she will have spent exactly 1/2 of her life with us, and that is a significant milestone that she is very aware of.
It is important to her that she has been here a long time, and even the "longest".

I have overheard her saying, "You're the oldest, but I've been here the longest!" :)

It is such a joy watching them grow.

Sarah at the Doctor Again.....

Periodically, Sarah's leg gets sore. 2 x's in the last 3 years she has required surgery because the bone in her leg grows and tries to keep on going, even though there is no leg there to grow into....

Well, it appears that it is happening again. When she keeps taking her leg off, I know that something isn't quite right. They are going to try and hold surgery off. They did this by grinding out a place in her prosthetic leg so she has more cushion.

Because she is having surgery on her hand in September, they are going to try and coordinate surgery on her leg at the same time. They are also going to operate on her knee on that same leg, as the knee cap keeps popping out and she falls to the ground unexpectedly.

And guess what? ALL this is going to take place on September 5th! This means, she will have a cast on her leg that wraps around her waist, AND a cast on her arm. Remember that picture I posted of the little girl who didn't like her dress?
Ummmmm..... I get the feeling, we'll have that face to deal with because she won't like her cast, and will be bound to a wheel chair for at least 6-8 weeks.

Please pray for her as she has apprehension about surgery. She said, "I don't want to have surgery, but I do want to have surgery?" Explain please?

"I like going to the hospital and playing games and I can watch the TV in bed etc.
But I don't like the pain."

I can understand that. :)

There is a chance by grinding out the prosthetic leg, it could cause things to get better and that surgery might be cancelled, and then they would wait on the knee surgery. If that happens, we will just go as planned with the hand surgery.

Something else we also noticed just yesterday, is that there is beginning to be a significant difference in the size of Sarah's right forearm, vs. her left forearm.
I'm not sure the cause or if we should bring that up to her doc's for advice?

God Knows her body better than any of us.

I'm just happy to be her mama. :)

A Successful Catch!!!!

I wrote about a mouse invasion a few posts ago. We have successfully eliminated most of those little buggers, and things are very quiet around here! YEA!

But then, there was a ruckus in the kitchen, I heard some noise and ran to see what it was:

I had caught Erika. :)

Sarah and the Doctor

Sarah went to the Doctor yesterday. This wasn't the doctor she usually goes to, but our regular Family Doctor. He has seen everybody in the family at least once, except for Sarah.
Both times I scheduled her for well checks, we had to cancel because of surgery coming up.

So this time, we decided while nothing is happening, lets go have a well check.
I have had this terrible fear in my mind about her past TB; that it might come back.
She had a chest Xray last month and the results were sent to the doctor. ALL is well!
She is doing great.

I knew she was, but it is always good to hear it from the guy who listens to the heartbeat and reads the chest Xrays. :)

Gramma And Grampa Are Coming To Town!

Our mom and dad are coming down from Tulsa Oklahoma. What makes this visit special?
All visits are special, but they are bringing their new baby with them too. Grampa just bought a new Nissan that is a hybrid. I don't know the name of it, but it looks really cool. So, the trip down to Texas shouldn't be cost prohibitive like it would be if he were still driving his Buick.

We are excited to have them come, and they plan to stay the weekend. Papa Dima will be at our church on Sunday, so they will be coming to hear him speak and then stay for a reception that evening.

The girls are going to be soooo excited. :)

I know we are.

Of Mice and Not so Fair Maidens

Ok, we have mice, once again! Living in the country invites critters to see the inside of your house sometimes. Our cat is just NOT doing his job right now! We have several acres behind our property that is not developed. When mice discover our home, they try to invade! Normally, we might see one or two, and then after they are caught, NOTHING, for a LONG time.... but I get the feeling, somebody had babies and we are seeing brothers and sisters! So, I have been on the attack! I caught 2 mice TONIGHT while writing my previous post! I am determined they will not move into my house! Mi casa is NOT sue Casa! (though it appears they have determined it to be so!)

I'm ready for an indoor cat! Now to convince Mike. :)

I have no plans of being nice to mice!

Visiting Thoughts

I'm sitting here tonight; late tonight.... unable to sleep quite yet.
We have had lots of excitement around here, lots of memories brought back up, and lots of time to reminisce.

I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes, because I can't believe how the Lord saw fit to use us... who are we? Nobodies. We are "Mechanic Mike and Farmer "wannabe" Christie".
Yet, in God's infinite plan, he chose us for his purposes. Doesn't that just blow your mind?

As we were talking to Papa Dima, so much information that we did not have about our little girls was coming out.
He talked about the first time he met our Sarah as an 18 month old child. He said, "she was like a wild animal in a cage". The doctor told him, "don't pay attention to that one"; like she was a hopeless case. She recoiled in fear at somebody coming near her crib. Now, just look at her... she is funny and smart and amazing and loving and kind and sweet, and she is our little girl.

In Erika's case: Our paperwork arrived at the orphanage on the very day she was to be sent away to a mental institution forever. I didn't know that. I knew she was leaving soon, but didn't know her bags were packed and she was an hour away from leaving.
THAT is how she knew something was happening.... because she didn't leave.....

Isn't our Lord INCREDIBLE? Isn't it amazing how he uses us to bring glory to himself?
You always look at it as "somebody else", they have an amazing relationship with God, and exciting life, and God works in their lives in a mighty way... you never look at it as you....

Yet, here we are, and God has worked in OUR lives, and we continue to Marvel at the process....
We are not special. We are not spectacular... We are just servants.

My heart sings with Joy to the Lord for HIS marvelous and wondrous works are many.
My faith is increased at the testimony of His love and faithfulness.

I continue to be amazed as the haze wears off and I see clearly the HAND of GOD in our lives, orchestrating every step in the way HE did, where there was no CHANCE at ALL for any question of "who was in charge". GOD was in Charge. He IS in charge, and we happily give him the steering wheel of our lives because, when HE drives, we get to take some very exciting and unexpected journeys.

Praise the Lord for his loving kindess and mercy and grace that gets us through each and every day.

What Do You Do When You Visit The Park?

You PLAY! You hang upside down, you talk with your sister right side up, and you talk with your sister upsidedown! You play with the other children, talk with Mark Twain and then you rest. :)

A Wonderful Visit

Papa Dima, Galya, Olga and Irra,
descended from the Friendly Skys on a Jet plane and landed in America. This was Irra's first trip ever to America. It was Papa Dima's and Galya's first trip to Texas.
Olga is Americanized. She is a Baylor Graduate. :)

We had a wonderful visit with them. We hosted some friends on Wednesday night and had Texas BBQ. On Thursday we went to the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and took a tour, so they could see where the girls are getting their care. We were very fortunate that Mike, being a volunteer in Radiology on Friday's, was able to arrange a special tour through the radiology department and we were able to go into each room and see the specialized equipment. They were also able to meet the special friends who make Erika and Sarah's legs. They were greeted with big smiles and the girls were thrilled that Papa Dima could meet their prosthetists.

I will post more pictures when I have time. But the one above is a group shot in the Radiology Department. The lady on the Left is Lois, the director of Radiology. Mike took the picture, thus he isn't in it. :) The other one is of the 2 fellows that make the Girl's legs. John and Steve. They are two very special men.

Summer Fun

Officially Summer doesn't start until June, but you couldn't tell it around here!
The girlies are distracted and have their eyes set on playing outside during reading and math. As soon as they are done, out the door they fly to take advantage of the puddles left from the last rain storm. They create and play and create some more.
Today, Anna was in the wagon train being pulled by horses......and Then they were transformed from Erika to Sarah, Sarah to Ms. Varageese, and Anna into Lottie :)
I wonder what will happen when I call them in???
Mrs. Varageese will you please come in for Language Arts?

Sometimes, I would like to join them and be transformed into a magical world where the laundry is all done, the dishes are put away and the front and back porches are clean, and I am sitting in my clean white linen pants with no hand prints, sipping iced tea on a perfect non humid day, reading without distraction. :)

Ahhhhh!






Ok, I'm awake now. Time for Language Arts!!!!!!!!

The Premature Cicata

Yesterday, we were all outside taking care of the yard, the animals, the garden; putting siding on the house and re screening the screens. We are not done! Surprise!
BUT.... we did find some interesting things. When Anna pulled a stone away from the ground to move it, there was a deep hole. She thought it was a snake hole, but it was a cicata hole. AND.... there was a cicata in that hole. He didn't appreciate the light thrust down upon his underground dark cave, as he is not quite ready to come out and become bird food. It takes a long time for a cicata to form and come out of the ground. They are harmless creatures, but very interesting. How does he know that he isn't ready to fly? It seems that God's handprint is in everything. Even the most insignificant bug. He buried himself back up with mud, and the girls will watch closely as the time comes for him to emerge, shed his shell and fly away. Summer is so full of wonder and awe. Isn't he a cutie pie?

Papa Dima is Given Permission to Come!

Papa Dima and his family will be traveling to Texas in June. We are so happy that they are able to come to America and see us. The girls are especially excited. They have such fond memories of Dima and Galya. We are looking forward to treating them to Texas BBQ. :)

Memorial Today

Many of you already know that Steven Curtis Chapman's 5 year old daughter was killed tragically in an accident that occurred in the driveway of their home.

This has touched the hearts of all parents across the world, and very much touched many in the adoption community. Their daughter is from China, and they were only able to know her such a very short time. She just turned five less than 2 weeks ago.

As I type this, a very special family is sitting at the funeral for their beloved daughter and sister.

Please pray for The Chapman family, that the Lord would give them comfort and a peace that surpasses all human understanding.

Though we do not know the Chapman family personally, we mourn with them.

http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/

There is a wonderful utube video you can go to from their sight to see little Maria doing the dishes with daddy.
Also there is another web site for donations to Shoashona's Hope, a ministry dedicated to financially helping those pursuing international adoption.

Let's Play Teenager????

This is what my sweet Sarah said today! And "how' exactly do you play teenager?








YIKES!!!!!!!

Nothing Like Spreading Yourself All Over the House!

"Mama! Can you put my legs on?"
Sure, where are they?

Ummm. My socks are in my room, and one liner is in my room I think and my legs might be in the bathroom, I don't remember. :)

So I went on a leg hunt this a.m.

What else do mother's have to do?

Ukraine Here We Come!

We are so blessed. We will be going to Ukraine for a short term mission trip in September. We will be able to visit with Papa Dima and his family, and Mr. Hal Tait.
The focus of our trip will be to visit the orphanages that Dima teaches at on a regular basis and visit the TB Sanitarium and hopefully the Infirm and Older Persons home.

Dima sent a couple of pictures of an Elderly lady and my heart was so touched by those pictures.

I can barely contain my excitement, at the thought of going once again to Ukraine.
We left our hearts there 2 years ago and have longed to go back.

We know that all is in God's timing, and that the girls will be well taken care of in our absence.

Eventually, we will take them with us, but not this time for this occasion.
As you think of it, please hold us up in your prayers.

A few people have asked about contribuitons:

If you would like to contribute to the missions trip fund, which will go to purchase bibles, clothing, school supplies, shoes, socks, blankets, adult pajamas, slippers, etc, you can send a donation to:

Community Bible Chapel
418 E. Main Street
Richardson TX 75081

In the memo area put: "Miscellaneous missions: Ukraine Trip 2008"

Most of all, we covet your prayers.

Right now, pray that we can find cheap airline tickets. :)

I am probably going to start a new blog specifically for Ukraine Missions, but need some time to pray and discuss it with Mike and our church leadership.

Bless Ya'll

And SEE some of YOU In UKRAINE!

The Way of Love

The Way of Love


Truly loving a person isn't just loving them to their face.
It is loving them behind their back too.

It isn't being kind when somebody is watching
It is being kind when nobody is watching.

When somebody speaks ill of another
Now you have two people to show love.

It isn't just loving your friends
But loving those who aren't like you.

The path that Jesus walked
Isn't an easy path.

It requires that self be put to death on a daily basis.
On an hourly basis.
On a minute by minute basis.

And that Christ be exalted in all
we say and do.

Come, let's die together..........

A Mother's Joy

I have two very dear friends and both of them experienced true joy this weekend.
The first one happened on Saturday evening, when her son walked down the isle of Believers' Chapel to be married to the love of his life.
The second one shed tears of joy when her son walked to his car to go to work for the first time since his terrible accident a few months ago.

Both incidents were so very different in nature, other than the walking.... but both brought extreme joy to the mothers.

Hopefully, nobody will have to experience the trauma of a child's life lingering in the balance between here and eternity, and hopefully nobody will have to see their child suffer. But for those who join the club of the wounded child, they are all too familiar with that sheer joy.

So, congratulations to my dear friend's children's accomplishments.
One for tying the knot, the other for going to work by himself.

Good for you both. :)

Covenant Theology and Ducks

So you might be thinking, "What does covenant theology have to do with a Duck?"
Well, let me tell you a story.

Over the last year we have been discussing baptism with the girls,after 2 expressed a desire for baptism. They have learned to explain it quite well.

Since then, Anna has been baptized, but Erika and Sarah have not.
Anna was baptized when Erika was in a body cast, and since that time, the elders of our church are discussing if children should be baptized. (that is another post)

So, on Sunday morning, our teacher was teaching on Baptism. He mentioned several scriptures that related to "and they and their whole household were baptized."

Anna immediately picked up on "and their whole household", and that got her to thinking..... a dangerous thing sometimes for her....

"The duck is part of the household, she is in our family"....

Soooo,
She came in from playing and announced, "I Baptized the Duck!"

"WHAT?"

She said,

"I read her a verse from the Bible, Sang a Song, when she heard the word God, she quacked, so I baptized her." :)

We now have a Christian Duck. :)

I might start calling her Sister Aunt Jemima Puddle Duck or Saint Aunt Jemima Puddle Duck.

So What is a Girl To Do...

When all her paper dolls are used up?
She Makes her own! :)

The Broken Vessel

This morning, I was getting ready for the day and decided to make the usual Iced Tea for the day. I have had this favorite glass pitcher for several years. It wasn't costly by any means, but it was very useful. Well, as I was pouring the water into the pitcher to make the iced tea, I heard this "ping". I know that sound. It reminded me of a pyrex dish that exploded in the oven one year when I was broiling fish. NOW THAT WAS A MESS to clean up!

I looked for the crack in the pitcher but didn't see it. But, I noticed tea was leaking out. Mike suggested an old bath towel to wrap around it and soak up the tea so it didn't get all over. I took him up on that suggestion and then lifted the Pitcher off of the counter. The tea gushed into the towel and the bottom of the pitcher was missing. It had cracked around a seam in the bottom.

I was observing that pitcher all day today and thought about it. I cannot use it anymore as it is a "broken vessel".

Then I started thinking about how God sees us. We are all "broken vessels". We are "cracked pots", we are not beneficial in our broken state at all! Yet God lovingly crushes us, and remakes us into vessels of honor and not vessels of destruction.
He takes our broken lives, our broken dreams, our broken hearts and fixes them, makes them correct and mends them.

It is funny how a simple thing, like a broken pitcher can cause me to reflect on the loving hands of my Heavenly Father. I was that broken pitcher. I was that wounded vessel. I was no longer good for anything. I am still being molded, still being broken, still being worked on and fashioned. He took my heart of stone and turned it to a heart of clay so he could work with it and fashion it into what HE wants it to be. May we all remain pliable in our potter's hands.

From a real cracked pot!

Look Mom!

I discovered a Fish fossil! It really does look like a fish, but I couldn't break her heart and tell her it wasn't. Not yet anyway, she is just too proud of her find. :)
It really does look like a fish, so at least it is a very cool rock!

How About a little Toast with that Jelly!

Visit Delayed

It appears that our Dear Friends Dima, Galya and Irra Solyakov's visit will be delayed for a while due to trouble getting visas in a timely manner. :(

It is easier for us to go to Ukraine than for them to come to the United States. We never really think about it that much because we already live here and can come and go as we please. But when it comes to those who are non citizens wanting to come and visit it is a long and arduous process.

Please Pray for the Solyakovs as they wait patiently that the Lord will comfort them, as they will most likely miss their daughter's college graduation.

We do look forward to seeing them very soon.

Brother Hal on the other hand, is in Waco now, and will be staying with us over the weekend and we really are looking forward to his visit.

Ok, Call me Callous....

But I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this "tomb stone". She had everything right but the birth date. It was MAY not March. :)

I never heard her USE a name for him, as we don't name our food, so it could be just a dramatic act or it could be that his name really was Birdsaye. BUT.... either way, on Thanksgiving Day, he will be on my plate.

The Flowering Dogwood

Here is a picture of the Flowering Dogwood. I contacted Amy at Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab, and she kindly gave permission for me to use it.

If you notice, this is a Dual Color Flowering Dogwood. I was showing it to the girls as an example of being "grafted". We had talked earlier last week about being "grafted" into our family through adoption.

The branches that are grafted into the dogwood tree MUST be part of the tree in order to get nourishment and blossom. In the same way, when we are adopted, we become part of a family and we are nourished and blossom.

I think the Dogwood Tree is a very good picture of Adoption. It is beautiful and in the case of the dual colored Dogwood, its diversity makes it even more beautiful.
You cannot have this beauty without the grafting that took place.

I think we are going to plant a Dogwood in the Fall. It will be our family tree. :)

The Big Guess

Today was a BIG day. The time had come to put the big turkey in the Freezer. To get him from Large Feathered Fellow to Neatly Freezer Wrapped and Ready to Thaw at Thanksgiving took nearly ALL DAY LONG!

Part of it was because he was so stinking big, I couldn't use the scalding pot. He wouldn't fit; NOR could I lift him in and out.

So, this a.m., I did the dirty deed, and Anna complained that we always eat the boys.
Somehow I remember that comment coming from our own boys. :)

After a couple of hours it was plucking time. Boy I could have used Grampa right about now. But the girls and I plucked and plucked and plucked. Then, it was time to bring him in for the big gut clean. It took FOREVER. Then, the final pluck, with all those little stubborn feathers. Then the clean and rinse. Then the WRAP. It took a LOT of wrap to keep him safe until Thanksgiving.
Ok, a different sort of safe. :)

So here is a picture of Anna clutching her Duck friend, who she is so very thankful is also FEMALE and not large enough to warrant all that plucking.
(that means, Aunt Jemima Puddleduck gets to live)

The other 2 pics are of the Turkey......










Anybody want to take a guess on Weight??

We weighed him. It is great having more minds, as mine doesn't work so well sometimes. I wanted to weigh him and I didn't even think of bringing the scale to the counter. I was telling the girls, "I don't know if I will be able to weigh him cuz I can't carry him to the bathroom!" Anna said, "Mom, we can always bring the scale into the kitchen!" THANKS ANNA! (why didn't I think of that) duh......:)

If you are coming for Thanksgiving and guess the right weight, you get first dibbs on the Turkey, though I'm sure there will be plenty to go around.

Happy Mother's Day

To all the Mom's out there.

There was a contest for Mom's from Teleflora and NBC. It was a "Nominate" your favorite mom contest yada yada yads....

I never pay attention to this stuff, but this one hit a nerve, not only with me, but with many of my friends.

There were several categories: Working mom, stay at home mom, and then there was NON-MOM!
What is a "NON-MOM"?
A non mom was an adoptive mom or grandparent.

What a SLAP in the FACE for every child who has yearned for a mom.
What a SLAP in the face for every MOM who has YEARNED for a child.

To their credit, they tried to "fix it", but then made it just as offensive by making an "adoptive" mom category!

So WHAT IS an adoptive mom? She is a MOM.

She is a mom who works or stays home. She is the face each little one sees when they wake in the morning, the one who wipes their tears, bandages their wounds, comforts them when they are sick, when they are hurt and cheers them on at endless events throughout their lives. She is the one who does their laundry, helps with homework and supports their every effort.
She is simply a mom.

We don't have "Non-kids", we don't have "adoptive kids", we have kids. They are OUR children and they are not less than. They are not loved differently. They are grafted into our families and they blossom there.

Teleflora and NBC REALLY, REALLY did a disservice to all moms. I hope they learn something from this.

I know this is just a "Hallmark made" holiday, and Mother's day is EVERY day around here. But I'm more concerned with the "message" sent AND how out of tune our society is as a whole. This didn't just get made up by 1 person. This had to pass through MANY MANY hands, and all those people thought those titles were ok.

What does that say about our society and how we view orphans who have found homes?
What does it say about how we view adoption?

Things to ponder......

Any way,

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY TO ALL!

The Home School Bookfair

Today was the big day! We attended the Annual Home School Bookfair. There were thousands of people there, and we were happy to go to see our "annual friends." The only time we see them is at the book fair! Our favorite booth is the Rod and Staff booth. They have WONDERFUL curriculum for Language Arts, Spelling, Reading and Math.

It was so fun when the Pastor from the Rod and Staff booth came out with a hearty greeting. We have seen each other annually for 16 or 17 years! He came to show me a book his daughter had written about Russian Orphans. I thought that was very sweet of him to remember us out of thousands of faces that he sees every year.

We also visited the site of Jim Weiss. Last year, he gave the girls a free signed CD of stories. (the 12 dancing princesses) This year, we purchased another story CD. The girls have listened to the other one for a year and have not tired of it!
His wife was there and gave the girls another one along with our purchase. Oh my aren't they fortunate!

So, the great thing is, we were able to get all our curriculum lined up for next year rather quickly. I decided to keep with the science we have. I could not justify spending 16.95 per book for a paperback Abeka science book that is so very basic. :(

We still have several units of the curriculum we have, so we will stick with it.
I can't believe we are going to start 4th grade. Everybody is on par and things are going great.

Of course, we purchased numerous Rod and Staff readers. Those are the most wholesome books, and the girls love them.