The Maiden Voyage

We finally went out on the boat. Mike has been working on getting it ready, and today was the day. I must say that I am not much of a boat person myself. I grew up near the ocean, and enjoyed swimming in the waves, close to shore! The lake is very close to us, so it makes sense to use the boat there.
I have always had this fear of boat ramps. What if the truck goes in the water? What if I can't get it out?
So today I conquered my fear and drove the truck away from the boat ramp after they embarked and then back up the boat ramp after they put the boat back on the trailer.

We didn't get out until around 7:00, so Anna was the only one with success! Mike tried water skiing, but didn't manage a good ride this time. It has been a long time. :)

Anna did great. Then, we let the girls swim off the side of the boat until the sun was going down. I only got a couple of pictures, as I was hanging on for dear life.
More fears to conquer.

I must add to this post:

The foster family that had Anna before us were huge on water sports. They had boats and jet skis and went to the lake OFTEN....
So when Anna had her first summer with us, she said, "Where is the boat?"
I replied, "We don't have a boat?"
The look on her face was priceless.... "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE A BOAT????"
LOL I still smile when I think about that. :)

Charlie Is Turning The Big ONE!

Our youngest grandson Charlie is going to be one year old next week! I can't believe it!
He is so adorable and so is his big brother Mr. Will!



Now Mr. Charlie likes to smile for his mommy and daddy especially if they do this!

"Through The Eyes of a Baby"
That one even makes me smile! :) Thanks Marc and Ivy. :)

An Important Message

I usually don't read psychology today. In fact, I have never read it. :) But today, a fellow adoptive mother sent an article that is VERY MUCH WORTH READING!

The title of the article is "Kidnapped or Saved" How some children feel about being adopted.

It was written after Justin was sent back to Russia by his adoptive mother. The person who wrote the article adopted her own daughter 4 years ago. She decided to ask her daughter, who struggled for a while when she came home, about her thoughts on the subject. It is the first article I have read from the adoptive child's perspective.

I was very pleased to see that she also covered what our children are often told before they come home. Our own daughter was told that we were going to kill her. We were going to sell her body parts. It terrified her. I was so glad that the information came out during our 10 day wait and that with our translator we put her fears to rest. But what about the child who is told this and internalizes it? Our children, being used to bearing their own burdens, many times do NOT share their deepest fears but try to handle them on their own. :(

I was especially interested too in the feelings this little girl had regarding the language barrier. She was terrified that she could not think in Russian OR English! Her parents didn't know she was feeling this way because she was unable to tell them. So things came out in rage.

So many children go through very tough times and they need US, as Parents to step up to the plate and be prepared!
Please read this article. It is a very good reminder for all of us to remember to think outside the box a little bit.

Dress Up Anybody!

A friend gave the girls some really fun dress up clothes. Here are some of the first pictures with some very fun clothes and hats!
Thanks Kay! They love them!

Tim is Back!

Our Nephew Tim is coming home from Prague after a year!

WELCOME HOME TIM!!!!!

Mistake vs. Intentional Act

We had a discussion with our kids about the differences between making a mistake, and intentionally breaking the law.
It seems that in our country, when people get caught in an intentional crime, they say, "I made a mistake." Somehow our language has evolved to using the word "mistake" for "crime".

If you REGRET that you robbed a bank, that is good, but don't say, "I made a mistake!" You didn't accidently walk into the bank, hold a gun up and get money. You did it on purpose! You can say, "I did something really stupid, or evil, or lacked terrible judgement, but PLEASE DON'T say, "I made a mistake".

"I made a mistake" should be used when you don't carry your numbers over correctly in your checkbook and the balance is off.
A mistake is when you buy an outfit you think is nice in the store and when you get it home it looks terrible. A mistake is when you THINK something is a certain way, and later find out it isn't, and you have acted upon erroneous information.

I'm sorry, but Date Raping a woman is NOT a mistake! Killing another person is NOT A MISTAKE!
Call it what it is! EVIL. Say, "I committed a sin". "I committed an evil act!" Or even "I lost control!". But please stop saying, "I made a mistake."

Ok, I'm off my soap box......

But.... before I go, here is what I see is the result of this "I made a mistake" mentality.
There is a blurrr in the lines where people truly DO make mistakes, vs. those who intentionally harm.

For instance, many years ago, if there were a tragedy where there was an accident and somebody lost their life because of it, it was common sense that the punishment of losing the loved one was considered enough. Mercy was shown to individuals who
found themselves in awful predicaments. An example might be: A child accidently left in a car because mother thought father had him and father thought mother had him. (I know a fine family this happened to. Luckily the child was ok, but not far from needing emergency treatment!)
Many years ago, if tragedy had occurred, the parents would have suffered their grief, and that would have been it.
But today, that same parent would be treated harshly and no different than the person who INTENTIONALLY AND CALLOUSLY leaves their child in a car. There is no room anymore in our society for human error. WHY? Because we can no longer seem to distinguish between an honest, tragic accident, and a crime. We can't seem to understand that adding a penalty of prison to a law abiding citizen who would NEVER intentionally hurt a child, is not a deterrent to keep other law abiding citizens who would never hurt a child from making a tragic mistake. We are imperfect beings, and tragedies do happen. They truly ARE mistakes, VERY different from intentional acts and callous behavior.

Recently, a little boy was allowed to drive a boat. There was an accident and his mother was killed. There is an investigation to see who is to blame and possibly file criminal charges. The little boy lost his mother, and most likely, it was his mother who allowed him to drive. She is dead. This little boy will live the rest of his life with the guilt of his mother's death. How tragic, if they investigate more and cause him to lose his father too, or grandmother! (all who were on the boat)

It seems their decision to allow a 7 year old was rather ignorant, but not CRIMINAL. Somehow, we are not distinguishing between criminal intent and just ignorant.

If we aren't careful, we are going to go down the slippery slope of Les' Miserables, where a man can get 20 years hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread because he was starving. And a man can ax murder his gramma and get out in 10 years.

Law must make sense, and lately, it is looking more and more like it doesn't. The new mindset of 0 tolerance, where a child in a school can get kicked out for bringing a plastic knife to cut his chicken and treated with equal harshness along with the child who brings a gun to school to harm others, is becoming the norm.

I'm a little concerned about the future if we stop thinking and check our brains at the door of the legal system.
No, I'm a LOT concerned.

My Sweet Grand Girlies

In about a week, my sweet grand girlies will be moving away to New Mexico! UGH! My heart aches for them. They have lived so close and we could see them all the time! Now, they will be 10 hours away! I know it is a good move for them, as the salary increase will make things so much easier for our son and his family, but oh, how it hurts to see them go so far. :(

I am so glad that Kate has a knack for photography! She took this picture of herself and Lillian. I am also thankful for modern day things like Facebook and Blogs and email, where we can stay in contact all the time, even if we don't live close by.

Pray for my kids as they move so far away, that they will be surrounded by good friends and a good church for them to attend.

We LOVE them so very much.

Holiday Highlights

We had the honor of Chuck, Jodie, Katie and Lillian coming over on the 4th to help celebrate. Here are a few pictures of our evening. I couldn't take pictures of the giant Mortar Shells Mike and Chuck sent off into the atmosphere! They were amazingly LOUD and Beautiful too. :)
I love living out where we can have a little pyro-fun. :)

America The Beautiful

This is one of my favorite songs sung by Ray Charles. Happy Birthday America!

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday America! We are a country of immigrants, but we are united by our desire to live Freely, Worship Freely, and Work Hard. I pray that we have many more birthdays to come.

I Miss Dad

I was looking at a "Look at this " post titled "Erika America".... I went back to see what it was, and in the comments, was our dad's comment. It was a proud comment about Erika being his grand daughter AND being beautiful. :)

It made me cry. I miss dad so much. But it is so cool to have these comments preserved here on the blog that I can share with the girls later on.

Dad died last November, but lives on in our memories and on this blog.

A New Resource

I just found a great resource for Adoptive parents. I read "The Connected Child" a few years ago, and was just made aware of a website called "Empowered to Connect".
There are unlimited resources on this site such as webinars, studies, bible studies, and more! WONDERFUL!

Anna's Week

While we were at Camp, Anna had her own week planned out. She didn't get pictures of everything, but she did get some good ones!

Anna visited her good friend Mary Grace, and her good friend Hannah. They were able to go swimming, and walk the dogs on the golf course. She also played a vocabulary game she told me all about at lunch today. :)

She went Ice Skating with Daddy, and reported that he did not fall ONE TIME! :) I was able to talk with her and daddy nearly every day, and she had a good day each day we were gone. :) I was so proud of her. She cleaned the house right before we got home, and welcomed us proudly with loads of stories of her week.

Way to go Anna!!!!!!

Here are some highlights of Anna's Week at "Camp Minich"!

More About Camp

These are some pictures from Erika's Camera. These are people that are important to her. Scott Simmonds is the director of Peaceable Kingdom. He is one of the nicest, most charismatic people I have ever met. And he deeply cares for each and every child that visits Peaceable Kingdom. He also reminded me to keep both feet on the ground at all times! No running! He didn't want a repeat of family camp when I broke my foot. :)

This is Brittany, Erika's best friend. They met at camp 3 years ago, and talk to each other almost every day on the phone. They also send endless emails to each other. :)

Derrick is one of many sweet counselors who loves to interact with the kids.


Wanda is a prosthetist at Scottish Rite Hospital, and the organizer for Camp Out on a Limb. She works tirelessly to make camp FUN! She is with her husband Bruce, who also came to camp and was a favorite of Erika.

Abagail is the activities director and oversees camp operation, making sure we stay on schedule. She is a really special lady.

And last but NOT LEAST, is Shannon. Shannon is very special. She has spent her last 3 summers at Peaceable Kingdom sharing her talents with the kids. She is one of the funniest people I have every met. She is sincere in her care for the kids, and the last I saw her, she was so sad, as this is her last year to be a camp counselor. :( I know she will never forget her experiences at Camp and it will shape her life forever.

Mr. Robert

This is Robert. We met Robert 5 years ago when Sarah came into our lives. He is the guy who actually MAKES the girl's legs.
He is a "behind the scenes" sort of guy at the hospital, hidden back in a little workshop. But he knows each kid whose legs he makes and makes a point to come out and see them when they visit.

Now at CAMP.... it is a TOTALLY different story. Robert is the endless Taxi driver for all the kids, and Cabin Counselor for the boys. He is an amputee himself, but that doesn't stop him from being the guy everybody jumps on. He is a mammoth of a man, with a very tender heart. He LOVES the kids, and he LOVES camp.

This year, he made sure to arrange for a host of pranks against all those sweet, innocent, little girls. :P The best one was the Silly string attack in the middle of nowhere. The boys were hidden when he drove by and then stopped! Of course he had a load of little girls on his taxi, and by the time the screams ended, they were all covered in a volley Silly String. :)

Erika and Sarah both said, "I LOVE Robert!" So I think after a week of being tickled, poked, jumped on, prodded, kidded,
and the famous line of "I'm not ready yet, just one more minute!", while he patiently waited outside the girl's cabin....., I couldn't think of a better person to post about.

Thanks for all the hard work Robert!

Camp Out on a Limb

Here are the girls making Marshmallow guns. After all the guns were made, there was a war between the boys and the girls.
Erika was the last girl standing. :)


The kids are diving around the campus on golf carts. Robert, the driver, is the same fellow who makes the girl's legs at the hospital.

This is Erika going up the zip line. She came down the same way. Maybe next year! :)

Sarah climbed up the rock wall!


Contemplating the Zip Line!


I can't believe I didn't get Sarah going down! It was hilarious. She jumped and then screamed her way down that line! LOL
Here she is on her way up. :)

Dancing At Camp

A big part of camp is group dancing. I didn't get the best of video, but it was really fun watching the kids dance and to see the camp counselors getting them to loosen up! :)

The Swing

We attended Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children last week. It was an amazing experience. There are numerous camps that take place throughout the summer. The one we attend is called, "Out on a Limb Camp". It is specifically for children with multiple limb loss or limb difference. Erika has attended four years in a row. This year was Sarah's first year to attend camp.
They both had a wonderful time, and so did I. :)

I love seeing all the moms and dads and workers that make camp so very special. The next few posts will be pictures from camp and some video of various activities.
The first big activity was the Swing.
This swing is higher than it looks! The kids love it. It takes a whole lot of dedicated workers to get each child up a ladder and into the swing.


Sarah went on the swing first. She has never done it before.


Erika went all the way! Way to go Erika!

WE'RE BACK!

Too tired to say anything else, except we're glad to be home and we had a WONDERFUL time!

Big Week Ahead!

Erika, Sarah and I are leaving for Camp on Monday. Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children is an awesome place for kids to go.
Anna has her own week planned out with daddy and different friends. She is just as excited about her week as we are about ours. :)

See you next week!

HE PASSED!!!!!!!

Our son Marcus PASSED all 4 parts of the CPA exam on the first try!!!!! Marcus we are SOOOO PROUD of you!
I knew he could do it. What a blessing to have that behind him. I know Ivy is sooo relieved that he is now an official CPA!

What a blessing. Thank you Lord for the blessings of your dear children. May all they do be God honoring.

Way to go MARCUS!!!!! WHOOOO-HOOOOO~!

Guess Who's Enjoying the Sewing Machine!

We will never lack for pillow cases anymore! She sewed each of us our own pillowcases. :)

Happy For Joy

You may remember our friend Joy. I wrote a blog post titled "Sad for Joy" about 2 weeks ago. She was going to have to move away and didn't want to go.

Well, a MIRACLE took place! She told her family that she was happy where she was, and wanted to stay with her friends and with Mr. Phil, whom she loves.

They had a meeting with the nursing home also, and everybody agreed that Miss Joy can stay! She is so very, very happy!

Suddenly, all those pre addressed and stamped note cards no longer seem like a good idea. LOL

We are thrilled that she can stay and so is Mr. Phil....

Then, today, he talked about moving in with us when he is better. I told him, I didn't think it would be fair for him to move in with us and leave her behind at the nursing home after she stayed here for HIM! She said, "Yeah, you should stay!" And he said, Ok, I guess I will! LOL

Whew.... that was a big load off of my mind, because I know he wanted them to both move in with us, and there is no way we could manage all that.

So, I dropped off Sonic Cokes for them to sip, and I dropped off his notebook to keep mail and receipts in. He is well enough now to manage some of those things himself. He seemed excited to see some mail, even if it is all AARP junk mail and old bills. :)

I talked to them a little bit about the area. Neither of them were aware of how nice a location they are in. 2 blocks from them is a nice down town strip full of small shoppes and coffee stops....a few quaint restaurants, all within walking distance.
He is allowed to check himself in and out, and we are telling him now, once you get yourself walking again, just look where you could stroll!
He seemed excited at the idea of sipping coffee and playing checkers. :)

What a nice end to a potentially tragic situation.

What a nice ending to a very sad time!

It Was A Wise Thing To Do.... I Think :)

I gave my sewing machine to Erika, with the understanding that she share with us, if we want to use it at some point in our lives. :)

She made a pillow case for Daddy, and was working on another project today. I had a sewing table that Mike gave me when we married. I think she will use it more than I have. :) She has a talent for all things handiwork.... I don't. For her it is a pleasure and joy.... for me, a frustration....

So it seemed like the right thing to do. :)

Maybe she can teach ME something soon. :)

Love you Erika deary. :)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's in our lives! We love each and every one of you.

I cannot believe we are celebrating Father's Day without our Dad Ed. :(
My father died when I was 30, and it was always nice to have OUR Dad.... and now
we have no dad. :(

In reality, we do though... We have our heavenly Father, our Lord, our God. He is our father.
The Scripture says we can call out to him, crying Abba Father! (daddy)
We are adopted in Christ Jesus to be sons.
There is comfort in Christ.

Happy Father's Day, especially to Mike. You are such an important part in the lives of your children.
Erika made Dad a Spider Man Pillow Case.


We found this cool coffee mug at Scottish Rite Hospital Gift shoppe.




For Father's Day we enjoyed a Chinese Buffet with several other families from our church. What a blessing to see all the dads helping their kids get food, and making sure they had prayed before lunch. :)

Mike's request for Father's Day was to eat Chinese food and then work on the boat.
The picture is him in the boat. :)


Love from All of us!