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!