Great News!!!!!

One of the little guys who was in the Orphanage with Erika and Sarah and is featured in one of the videos below has found a FOREVER FAMILY!!! Praise the LORD! I am so excited for Misha and his brothers! A wonderful family somewhere in the USA has adopted the boys. They will be picking them up from Ukraine sometime next week. Praise the Lord for answered prayers. Praise the Lord for a family willing to answer the Call.

Praise the Lord!!!!

The New Year Is Upon Us!

Yikes..
How does it happen so fast. It seems that I just get used to writing down the new date, 2007, and starting tomorrow, I have to start writing 2008! How is it that as we get older, time does seem to go faster?
Now I know there is a mathematical solution for this that makes perfect sense, but it definitely gives me a sense of being, well, OLD. :)

But this isn't about being old, it is about the New Year!
I actually Love New Years. Everything has a chance to start over. Not that you can't make changes in the middle of the year, as we all do, but there is something that is refreshing about starting fresh with the new year.

So this year, has been BUSY. We have had surgeries, new legs delivered, dr's. appt's. visits with friends,visits with family, travel to AZ, we have had our share of tragedy and our share of triumph.
There has been the tragedy of death in our family, and there has been the welcoming of new life.
We have seen the girlies grow both physically and emotionally, and even in their setbacks, they are moving full steam ahead; turning into beautiful young ladies.

We are so very thankful to the Lord for the lives he has given us. Our lives are fulfilled in serving Christ. We are not without problems, and we are thankful for those problems. They keep us on our knees. Without tragedy, we wouldn't know triumph. Without sorrow, we wouldn't appreciate joy. And it is such a part of life, the life that God has chosen for us to live.

As we prepare to be ushered into the New Year, we have no guarantees, we have no assurances that we will live this entire year in success and happiness. However, we do not enter this year in a spirit of fear. Because what we DO have, is the assurance and guarantee of a Savior, Christ the Lord, who will hold our hand and walk us through all of the unknown. Unknown to us, but certainly not unknown to Him. He will continue to break us and mold and shape us and cause us to cleave to him.

And someday, a day we look forward to, we will not have to worry about how to write the newest year in our check book, because we will just need to remember "eternity".
There will be no weeping, no sorrow or sadness or pain. There will only be Life in Christ.

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish all of my family near and far a SUPER VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!
We are so going to miss those who cannot be near especially Joe, Becca and Sam. Our hearts ache that we can't be together, but we know we shall see you soon.

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES are needed. :)

We love you so very much.

Merry Christmas

My Fair Lady

Sarah watched "My Fair Lady" this weekend. She loved the movie. It amazes me how much she catches onto for such a young girl. (the other 2 girls lost interest and went to play in their room, Dad was asleep, and I was sort of napping, so she was watching it alone.) Well, we were at the part of the movie where the man sings "I'm Getting Married In the Morning". It is a LONG song and dance routine. After his zillionth verse about "getting married in the morning", "get me to the church on time"........

Sarah blurted out,"FOR PETES SAKE, GET TO THE CHURCH AND GET MARRIED ALREADY!" GOSH!

Cracked me up. :)

Baby Jesus KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

I remember teaching Awana a few years back. I was teaching my favorite group, the "Sparkies". It is such a great name for Kindergarten to 2nd grade. They are kind of like little "sparklers", all over the place, but if you aim them in the right direction, they just sparkle and shine.

It was Christmas time, and we were of course talking about "Baby Jesus". We had done and interactive play with Mary, Joseph, the wise men, baby Jesus, donkey's etc.

ALL the kids knew about the shepherds, wise men and baby Jesus.

What surprised me though, was that many did not connect Jesus the Man, the Crucified one, the Lord, the Savior, with Baby Jesus.

"Do You mean that is the SAME guy?"

YES.....

The world LOVES to celebrate His birth. The cute little baby, in the manger, sent as the Savior. "For on this Day in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior is born, Christ the Lord".
But when it comes to him growing up, walking among us, convicting us of our sin, telling us that HE is the Way, The Truth, The Life..... people start dropping off the celebration wagon.

In order to be forgiven of sin,to be saved, we need to recognize that we are sinners in need of salvation!

Jesus was perfect, sinless, and the final and complete sacrifice for sin. Why is the "baby" accepted, in song and celebration, but the Man, disputed, rejected, diminished?

The truth is, This is the WAY God showed his love for us, He sent His only Begotten Son.

That Son, would pay the ultimate price for our sin. Death on a Cross. But it doesn't end at his birth, nor at His death.

GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD! He is eternal, His name is above ALL names and Every Knee Shall Bow and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus Christ Is LORD~!

Merry Christmas

Do You Ever Feel....

Do you ever feel like Crying?

Yesterday, Tim had his graduation party. It was a wonderful time, and so surreal.
I have been quietly crying for over this week while putting together his slide show, imagining him walking across the stage with cap and gown, shaking the hands of his educators, seeing him beaming smile and cheering loudly from the crowd with my whole being. Tears come and I shake them off as much as I can. They are tears mixed with raw emotion, joy, sorrow, elation, from the past, present and future. Tears that contemplate and celebrate the past and the present. It isn't often that I would admit to tears. I do not feel comfortable with the "woman emotional thing". In my life it has been necessary to keep my tears under wraps and tightly controlled; but if there was ever a time for tears of joy, for unbridled joy, for a celebration of celebrations.....and for loads of tears with a box of kleenix by my side.....
This was it.


you can read a few posts down more about Tim and his graduation. Also-----> over there somewhere is a link to Tim's slide show.

Christmas Mania

There is nothing like kids to get you into the Christmas Mania mood.
I did all my shopping on the computer this year. Avoided the shopping centers and malls and was very disciplined. I plotted and saved and planned and ...... well....

Two days ago, Anna wrote a letter to Santa. She asked for a doll. The rotten little guy wrote back and said EVERYTHING BUT... "I'm bringing you a doll"....but he hinted around like it was true.

Then Sarah wrote and SHE asked for a doll too! "I've always wanted a doll!" WHAT?
She didn't ask ME for a doll! She asked for a dog!

Then Erika, she didn't play around with the english language, she went straight for the jugular. There was no bantering of words like, "Dear Santa, how is Mrs. Claus?" She said straight up, "I want a computer". A COMPUTER!??

Well, the computer was OUT, but dolls? I could work with that. I found myself looking at the American Girls Web site and found the prices Shudderingly scarey. Then I remembered my friend BETH2 from Frua, a voice of reason, talking about dolls from Target. Well, I headed to target and there they were. Beautiful dolls, the kind they wanted on SALE for 19.99!

So, yes, I am a Christmas maniac. I got them the dolls. Erika got a doll too. I hope they love them. Computers will come soon enough.
I loved buying them.

The Kindness of Strangers

Today was one of those days. The kind where you wonder why you woke up in the first place.....

I had to go to the insurance office to give them our premium before we became uninsured homeowners. I brought with me a delicate plate of home made coconut macaroons for an insurance peace offering.

I was about a mile from the office when the van made a wierd noise and then that all too familiar alarm sounded as the van died and drifted off to the curb. Now the last time I heard that sound I was in the middle of nearly nowhere and it overheated and the engine burned into a melted heap of metal. This time, I was pushing buttons to see if it was hot and it wasn't but it was that same unnerving sound.

So, I try to start it again, no go. I call Mike and he tells me to try and start it again. Nope, it won't budge. He calls a tow truck and heads to get me. He arrived at the same time as the tow truck. But inbetween that time I couldn't believe how nice people were. No less than 8 different cars stopped to offer help or assistance to use their cell phone. I was really proud of Dallas Texas.

Learning How To Play

I remember when Anna first came to us, she had no idea how to play and imagine. She did have 2 imaginary friends, "Holly and Sister Nuthin'", which showed she had potential as she had an imagination, but understanding playing with dolls and toys were just beyond her.
We started with playing together, and teaching her how to care for her babies. Over time, she took off. And now, I just walked onto the back porch. She was sitting on her saddle pretending to be "Pa" from "Little House on the Prairie", she had her "catch of food", (stuffed animals) hanging by her saddle and was getting away from wolves to go home for dinner. I walked out a few minutes later and she was making soup from wild leaves. She has been pretending little house with her sisters for a couple of weeks.
It is just ineteresting watching that little imagination become healthy and happy. The only thing she would pretend when she first came to us was that she was going to hit us or put us in time out because we were "bad". Now, she is a nice mommy, and plays a great "PA". She is going to be so excited to get that "Cowboy Outfit" she doesn't know she is getting for Christmas. :)

Christmastime Is Here

Here we are at another Christmas season. I love this time of year. I love the smells, the lights, the activity, watching the crowds, the smiles of strangers, everything is just better in December.

There is banter back and forth on how to celebrate the Holiday. Do you celebrate it as the Birth of Christ or as a Secular cultural Holiday? I have heard persuasive discussions from both camps.

However you choose to celebrate; tree, no tree, gifts, no gifts, religious only, secular only, mixed up and all in between or mixed up and all in betweeen, don't forget that EVERYDAY that we live, is a day to Celebrate Christ our Lord. It is a day for which we should be thankful. Every day is a reminder that Christ did come in the form of a man, emptied himself of His glory and became a serveant unto death. It is a time to reflect upon the baby who came, but also the one who reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is a time to remember that this is how God showed His love for us.
That while we were yet sinner's Christ Died for us.

The Ultimate Gift, became the Ultimate Sacrifice to give us Ultimate Life; He is our Life.

When Santa Fell In Love With Joe

When Joseph was 3, I took him to see Santa Clause at the Mall. This Santa was such a cool Santa. He had a REAL long white beard, and long white hair. He had a beautiful red suit and little round gold rimmed glasses. Marcus was not about to see Santa, but Joe was intrigued.
I had never "pushed" the Santa Clause thing on them, but he had seen Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and had seen the Mall Santa, so we paid a visit. After a long wait in line, Joe got on Santa's lap. With those large Hazel eyes he stared at Santa and talked to him about his cars and just contenly sat on his lap. He never asked for anything for Christmas. He didn't get the concept of "Christmas getting" quite yet.

The large elf woman was asking me about picture packages for 19.95 and I couldn't afford that. I said no picture, he just wants to see Santa. He came out with a look of contentment on his face and didn't say anything. He just seemed happy. A week later, I took the kids back to the mall to see the decorations again. Joe asked to see Santa again. There wasn't a line, so there he was back on Santa's lap. Again, he talked about his cars, but didn't ask for anything. Then again, and then again. Santa smiled when he came to see him the last time. He thought he was such a sweet little guy and commented about how he never asks for anything. He just wants to visit. Santa seemed pleased about that.
They stopped asking to take pictures and understood, Joe just wanted to talk to Santa one more time. Santa let him talk as long as he wanted, and then he went home content. I think Santa still remembers Joe and those sweet hazel eyes staring at him in awe.

What About Santa Clause?

So Was Saint Nicholas a real person?

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38

In Honor To The LORD for our Tim

I don't know if I can get through writing this, but I am compelled.

My Tim, OUR Tim is graduating from College. A mother could not be prouder of ALL of her sons, but Tim.... How can I begin?

When I found out Tim was on the way, it was because of a "threatened miscarriage". I went to the Dr. and found out he was still hanging on for dear life. Well, he hung on as long as possible, and when I was 30 weeks pregnant, he was born. I won't go into the long details of the experience except to say that is was not normal labor and delivery.

Tim breathed on his own, gasping for each breath through underdeveloped lungs for nearly 4 hours before he was rescued by a team from the NICU at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. I took one long lingering look at him as they were taking him away. He curled his little fingers around my finger and gazed back at me so intently for a very sick newborn. I checked out his fingers and toes and full head of black hair. He was the most beautiful baby. And then, he had to go. I couldn't follow until several hours later.
I got there as soon as I could. Of course, my first question was, "Is he going to live?"
The very experienced nurse said, "I can't tell you that, but he is a fighter!"
Those words never rang so true.

He fought for 16 days on a respirator, and on his 16th day, VICTORY! He was breathing with oxygen, ON HIS OWN! I went home triumphant. When we returned that night, the Dr. stopped us saying "Don't let them in here yet, I need to talk to them!" Chills ran through me. I caught a glimpse of him. He was back on the respirator.

The Dr. gave us the grim news, that he had suffered a major brain hemmorage. It was large and to the left side of the brain. As the Dr. went on explaining things, his words were humming somewhere away from me and I was thinking, "Can this be happening?" It was. But it was so surreal. I came back to hear the Dr. once again say that he has given them no indication that he will ever see, hear, speak, sit up, etc. I said, in other words, "He will be a vegetable?" Yes.

The Dr's. told us they wanted to remove him from life support. After numerous tests at our request, he was taken off of life support. He was determined to be brain dead.
My prayer had been, "Lord, if Tim is never going to know he was alive, if he can never Know YOU, then take him, but if you have something to teach me through taking care of him, can I please keep him? But can you make him Know he is loved and make it so he will know you and can worship you?

Well, I didn't know it, but my prayer was answered. We rocked him for a day, and he didn't die. Then they put him back on oxygen and I overheard them say, "this is a devastated baby", meaning,  he can breathe, but nobody is home. I was crushed.

I visited him every day and talked to him and held him. At nearly 3 mos he came home.
I don't exactly remember when, but I went into his room and looked at him and he looked back for the first time and SMILED back at me when I said, "hi Timmy"! OH WOW! That was strange. He started to learn how to suck too, and at 5 mos, was taking a bottle without needed to have a tube put in his tummy to feed. Up to that point, I was tube feeding him several times a day. It took a lot of practice, but he learned.

Before I knew it, he was babbling and starting to bunny crawl, but not sit up.
He was a happy little guy, all chubby and cherubic.

I knew we had a problem when he couldn't sit up and seemed rather stiff. I found out he had a condition called "Cerebral Palsy"; spastic diplegia to be exact.
Not much hope was given.

He had some therapies but not much made a difference. He wanted to walk when his baby brother Joe started walking. In fact he got MAD that Joe was walking and he wasn't. He made it is life project each and every day to do nothing but try to walk, and walk he did! It was just a few steps, but after trying over and over and falling and falling, he was finally able to manage a walk.

He was considered retarded by all the tests, with his first IQ test coming back at around 68. I was again told not to expect too much. I knew better. He was a linguist and was already conversing above his age level. Did he have issues. YES!
Wierd seizures that made him stop talking, bang things, including his brothers, open and close doors... and forget everything he ever learned in his life. But, we got them figured out.

It was time to start school. First he was placed in a Preschool for the Handicapped through the public school system. He came home after 1 week and had a tanrum, and by week 2 was banging his head on the floor! I went to the school and was shocked. The teacher said, "I think he is autistic!" AUTISTIC! NO! He is mimicking his classmates. I pulled him out and he returned to normal.

He went to a regular Kindergarten, and then was placed in a special ed for 1st. They were teaching him to tie shoes, comb hair, things I would teach him at home. I asked them, "What about reading?" It was like I was from mars.

Things continued that way through 4th grade. He was going into 5th grade and still could not read and write, or do any math problems. The teachers told him he couldn't and he believed it. WE DIDN"T BELIEVE IT! We went to his final IEP and 10 professionals stared at us telling us he would never learn to read or write or do math. WHAT? He can find the super secret Mario mushroom! If he can do that, he can read!

Thus began our journey with home education.

Tim tried so very hard and by Christmas was READING. Before school officially started he did 2 years of beginning math! He was focused and ready! Life was back in his eyes. His internal clock was raring to go at 6:00 a.m., and I had to ask if I could have my morning coffee before answering his math question.:)

Tim continued to progress and more importantly grow in his relationship with the Lord.

When he was 18, he so much wanted to graduate. I knew it would benefit him to study just one more year. I asked him to pray about it. He did, and then made a very mature decision. He would study one more year and graduate with his brother Joe.
He grew so much that year academically and emotionally. It was a fun year.

He was still convinced he couldn't do college. Joe and taken a year off to wait for Marcus to graduate, and then they were going to go to school together.

I so much wanted Tim to go too. His brothers got a grand Idea! While Tim was on a missions trip to Russia, they would sign him up for college. When he got home, he had 5 days to take the college entrance test and move into a dorm room with Marc. We told him, "don't think, just GO! I don't care if you take underwater basket weaving, GO!
He took the entrance test and passed it. His first semester was bowling and Russian.

After that, he got the school bug.... then more encouragement, and then.... he met a girl. Emily. She encouraged him even more. And... She married him. :)

Well,day after day, week after week, month after month, semester after semester, Tim went from Jr. College to University of Texas Dallas! Wow, he was a Junior, and then a Senior!
Math class after math class; professors telling him he should give up, not allowing extra time... then there were those who did give extra time and encouragement. But NOBODY gave him a free ride. He did every assignment. He did everything, just like everybody else.

And then, today came. He took his last final. He is done. DONE! It has been 7 years of non stop study. He is done. And December 8, 2007, when he walks across that stage to get his diploma, We will be there, proud mom,proud dad, with a large box of kleenex stashed away. We're gonna need it.
Praise the LORD!

We're so proud of you Tim!

Dear Lord,

I thank you for letting me be Tim's mom. For sending him to me and giving me the honor of raising him. I am so honored and thankful for my dear son. Lord you know what is best for each of us, and all of your gifts are good. You have taught me to embrace sorrow and suffering through Tim, in order to achieve gladness and joy.

Thankyou for my wonderful gift.
Tim's mom

A U Tube Slide Show has been added over there--------> see Tim's Slide Show

Today Was Anna's Birthday

Ahhh. What a nice day. 9 years old is just a fine age to be. Anna woke up to her favorite Oatmeal breakfast, and then hunted the house for presents. She was pleasantly surprised with a coveted Remote Control Tarantula. She loved baking her own cake, and finally having her favorite dinner. She is looking forward to Chuckie Cheese this weekend. Little girls are just the sweetest gifts. So are little boys, but right now, it is a little girl's day. :)

Thanksgiving 2007

What a whirlwind of a trip! We celebrated Thanksgiving in Phoenix with Mike's brother's family and Sister's family, and all thier friends, and more of our extended family. We had a wonderful time, just wish it could have been longer.
When we left Dallas it was about 83. We rushed, all day getting as ready as we could be; my fault for not being ready the day before, which set the pace for the beginning of our trip as "stressed". I should have known better!

Before long, there were little rumblings of bickers coming from the back seat. "She's looking at me!" "Her pillow is touching my pillow!" I was starting to long for the days when putting the kids in the back of a pickup camper was legal. :)

After about an hour and a half, we pulled over and said, "This must stop." We moved one child up front with us, and we kept it that way all the way there and all the way home.
It made for a great time in the car and at while visiting in Phoenix. The kids had a wonderful time and so did we.

It was really neat to meet new people and of course all of the relatives. I loved seeing all the little cousins together and noticed Anna and James seemed to hit it off with their love of reptiles and spiders.

Sarah loved being with Lindsey and little Emily and I think they especially enjoyed playing follow the leader in the Creek.

Erika enjoyed spending time with Katie and Melanie, and playing Backgammon with Grampa.
The biggest treat for Anna was being able to lead a Llama around by a leash and help take care of it.

Ever since her LLAMA experience it has been "when can we get a LLama!" Yikes.... Do they SPIT? I Dunno.

We are home now, I have gotten past the collapsed from exhaustion experience and we are now working on the Christmas tree and planning for the Christmas Holiday.

OOZING THANKFULNESS

Anna- Dear God,I'm thankful for new clothes, ribbon Candy, the new globe, the coloring book, the Elsie Dinsmore Books, reading about Coyotes, memorizing bible verses, having a house, a cat that doesn't meow at Rusty. (the dog next door)I'm thankful for mommy, daddy, Sarah and Erika and animals to love and kiss and give shots and I'm thankful for the cows. Amen

Sarah- Dear God,I'm thankful for my sisters,and I'm thankful for a sister who helps me get my crayons, I'm thankful I have good clothes, sisters who tickle me but don't jerk me, I'm thankful for God's angels and that God helped me, and I'm thankful for my family and home. Amen.

Erika- Dear God, I'm thankful for my family and my sisters. I'm thankful that I have legs. I'm thankful that I have hair. I'm thankful that we get to go to AZ to see Uncle Dave.
I'm thankful my sisters help me and play with me. I'm thankful that I got adopted by a wonderful family. I'm thankful that I have a mother that teaches us. I'm thankful that I have brothers, that God gave me a wonderful life. I'm thankful that God gave me uncles, aunts, father mother and cousins. I'm thankful for a house, food and a bed.
I'm thankful we have animals, and turkeys. I'm thankful for my coloring book, and that I like to read and play basketball. I love my whole family that God has given me. I'm thankful I have a globe. Amen

Well, HE DID IT!

Chuck signed with Capitol Records. He has a contract, WRITTEN and SIGNED! Guaranteed 3 Albums. His song "GEEK" is being played on the Radio and is about to go Nationwide.
It is already being played in several states and on the TV show "Beauty and the Geek."
All those years of guitars, singing in his room, sceaming to make his voice "raspy", weird pedal requests, worries, sacrifices, hard work. He signed. Chuck I'm proud of you. :)
Love, Mom

The Link to the Geek song is over there---------->>>>>>>

Anna and Her Fish

Since Anna lost her sheep to Coyotes, she has had a hard time not having something living to take care of. That ended last night when she purchased her very first Beta Fish. She is so proud of her. She says it is a girl, of course. The fish looked at her and got happy and excited. She insists the fish WANTED to go with her. After careful consideration on each item needed to care for a fish, a report on fish care for daddy, and getting the fish home, she named it Ruby Carole. It is a great name for a red fish. :)

She sat by her during movie time last night and made sure she was ok. This a.m. was fish feeding time. 3 pellets. I think she has found a new love, and coyotes can't get to it.

Funny Sarah

Oh My, she comes up with some zingers.

Today, she was looking at the BBC version of "The Silver Chair". She asked, "Mommy, did you win this movie?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She said, "because it says 'Award Winning Video' on the box." :)

What Is OUR Purpose in Life Here

I have been pondering this after a few discussions that Mike and I have had. What IS our purpose here? Is it to be happy, have a cool family, live morally, die and go to Heaven? No. It can be so much more.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my family. But there is LIFE in Christ, that INCLUDES family and includes ministry and includes work.

Our lives SHOULD reflect and glorify God. Is what we do, here on Earth for ourselves, or is it in honor and love for our Lord Jesus Christ?

Every time I look at an orphanage slide show, there is something down inside that tells me, that is where I should be, that is where WE should be serving. Living out James 1:27.

This a.m. I witinessed our "Christian" neighbor, be so rude and mean to another neighbor who's cow jumped over the fence. I saw her so worked up over a cow, and thought, oh my, what would happen if we got that worked up over sin. Sin in our own lives. Sin that causes little children to be abandoned, neglected and abused?

Then I looked at myself. I can get myself worked up over things too. Oh that I would spend that energy more wisely, to pursue holiness, to pursue a life dedicated to my Lord and Savior, to pursure James 1:27 and be its embodiment. Oh Lord help me to prioritize. Help me to guided by your Holy Spirit in my every day existence.
Amen.