THE "TOGETHER FOR THEM" CONFERENCE

Mike, the girlies and I headed to "The Together For Them" conference <---( link)in Houston Texas this weekend!

We had a fantastic time! 

Our friends, the Days, hosted us for  the weekend and we are SO THANKFUL for their generous hospitality!!!   It isn't easy hosting a family of SIX! ( I love Princess Laeh's glowing eyes) <<<--the dog. :)
On the way, we stopped at the "Sam Houston Memorial" and took in a little Texas History. :)

 The Conference started this a.m. at around 8:30 and went until 3:30 or 4:00.  We had a wonderful time.  Alex Krutov, Author of "Infinitely More"<--- link   was the key note speaker, and he was just precious! I wanted the girls to hear him speak. He was an orphan in Russia, adopted by Russian parents, ABUSED for 2 years by them, and then became a street kid.  He was then put in an asylum for  criminals, which he was NOT, drugged, and worse.... and finally made it out.  His story is one of TRAGEDY and TRIUMPH! A must read, or HEAR, if you ever get to hear him speak. He is just a wonderful young man, who has experienced the Mercy and GRACE of God.

 I did 2 sessions at this conference back to back... The Title was "Dare To Disciple".

 Erika was in there to take some pictures. :)

 I am so thankful to have had this opportunity!
The conference will be available online.
Thank you to ALL those who prayed for me and for the conference!

And as of tonight..... I have ZERO voice! LOL  Totally lost it and everybody around here has been thinking it is rather funny! Except for me! :)

 ONE MORE THING! Mike drove TO the Conference and Back and I am really thankful that he did!
I really felt supported all weekend. We are a good team! :)


MORE Pictures of Our Trip:

And here is a short video of Lydia, Sarah and Alli.....

So thankful for our friends the Days' for letting us invade their house! :)  It was really fun!

President's Day

 Class Presentations on President's Day were really fun.  The girls had to write a short few paragraphs on their favorite president and why he was their favorite. :)
For fun, the littles did their reports with quill pens and Ink. :)
They both worked very hard making that first LARGE old fashioned letter.

 Her Favorite President was Abraham Lincoln.

 I think Anna looks very distinguished in her new reading glasses!

 Sarah's favorite president was George Washington.

 Alli's favorite president was Abraham Lincoln.

Erika's favorite president was Abraham Lincoln also!

I would have to say mine is George Washington too.... or John Adams....I haven't been able to decide.

This weekend I will be speaking at the Together for Them Conference.   I'm looking forward to meeting some of you!
Now, if I can keep my voice, as it seems to be sounding a bit SCRATCHY...... that will be nice! LOL
Anna put together a slide show for me to put on my display table while Erika was away skiing in Colorado.  Thank you Anna for all that hard work!  Of course, she worked in a Justin Bieber song. LOL
So, here goes!  YIKES!

The Ukrainian Bathroom Saga

In my previous post<---- link, I wrote about how God uses even our selfishness to bring about His purposes in our lives.  I mentioned that we used McDonald's for coffee and sometimes a bathroom, but there was a long story behind that. 

Here is that story! :)


When we picked Erika up from the orphanage, she still had her feet.  She was in braces that she could sort of walk in, but it was hard for her and she was in a lot of pain.  She would more like "slide" her feet in what she called "her bricks".  
These braces attached as high as her upper thigh, just below the buttocks.  They had straps and hinges, so you could let the tops down, but they only went to a 90º angle.

Now, many of you who have been to Ukraine, know that public restrooms can consist of a porcelain hole in the ground.  It would be required that a person "squat"..... a position that I certainly have never been used to. LOL
And Miss Erika, who is unable to bend, hardly at all, CERTAINLY could not attain a position like that!

Back to the story:

We were in the Internet Cafe' near Victory Square.  It is upstairs and there was no elevator.  The handicapped are pretty much UNSEEN in this country. They are neatly tucked away in institutions out of the sight, minds and hearts of this nation. :(

We carried Erika upstairs with us and were enjoying writing to our relatives, when Erika got this look on her face and said, "Toilet"!  I'm really glad "Toilet" is the same in English and Russian! :)
But that look on her face convinced me this was urgent.  We asked her if she could wait, and the answer was "NYET!"
So, I took her to the bathroom at the internet cafe'.  It was a hole in the ground.  I struggled to try and help her over that hole but there was no way! And she said, "TOILET!" Even louder!
Ok, Ok!   I'll get you to a toilet!

So, I got her dressed again, and headed down the stairs with her.  There was a McDonald's about a Foot Ball field in length away..... I was walking as quickly as possible holding her in my arms.  She was small, but she was a bundle at 45 lbs!
It was so cold, and I was getting out of breath. We had to go up stairs into the McDonalds, and then Down a  flight of stairs to the bathroom...
There was a CODE that had to be typed in at the door, meaning you had to PURCHASE something or you couldn't use the bathroom, and oh the LINE!
A manager saw me coming back up the stairs and I must have been was terribly out of breath!
I managed to get out.... "TOILET!" 
Erika said it again! "TOILET!"
The manager quickly took us down the stairs and opened the door with the code for us..... Thank YOU Manager!
The door opened to a room FULL OF BEAUTIFUL TALL WOMEN all crowded around the mirror.... there was no room to fit in! 
Erika said, "TOILET!" 
It was like the red sea parting.... There was a stall open and we rushed in.....
I quickly got her undressed, coats off, braces pulled down...... and then..... AND THEN.......
AND THEN!!!!
There was this, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle..... "Spaciba!"  And a big smile. :)
I was thinking, " for all that effort can't you produce a little more?"
Nyet! It was just a tiny TINKLE???? 
LOL....
So we finished up, and I carried her back up the flight of stairs and we sat on the steps of the McDonald's so I could catch my breath and not keel over from a heart attack. :)
After about 15 minutes, we went back to the Internet Cafe' and back up the other flight of stairs where Mike was happily typing away to his dad.  LOL
He looked at me and said, "Wow, what took so long!"

How God Uses Even Our Selfishness For HIs Purposes

I have wanted to share this since 2006 when I started this blog.  Our 2nd post <--- link  was all about our Trip to Ukraine.  It was more, just a series of emails.  The April 17th Email was written by Mike's Dad.  He said there was a story to tell, and I am going to tell that story today. 

We were sharing this with our Pastor Justin on Sunday and I remembered again, how God is so full of Grace and Mercy towards His children.

Mike, Erika and I were back in Kyiv on the last leg of our trip.  She had passed the American Embassy physical, and had her passport.  We had all of our adoption documents, but we were there a little longer than expected, and had to change our Air  Line Tickets.  We had one day to find the Delta Airlines office in Kyiv, but they had MOVED, and we couldn't read the door in Ukrainian that gave the new directions. 
We called the phone number feverishly, but nobody answered. Instead, we got a disconnect message. Or I think that is what we were getting.

Our translator was gone for  Easter Weekend.  We were quite comfortable when she wasn't with us, and in fact found it better for her time with us in Kyiv to be limited.  She was young and sweet, but made some errors in judgment that caused everybody struggles.  She kept purchasing gifts for Erika, and at one point had Mike carry all her luggage while she pushed Erika in the wheel chair.  Needless to say, we were a little stressed, and concerned and disappointed that her first Ice Cream cone didn't come from us, even though we had made a real request that it did.
I know this may sound silly, but we were being very careful with a very attention deprived, sensory deprived child, and we were on red alert trying to get her through without too much stimulation.
I was cooking most meals so we could just eat as a family, though we did meet with another family a few times and took walks.
Erika ENJOYED the sun and the sights. :)

I remember enjoying that Easter  Sunday morning SO MUCH, listening to the Church Bells going off all over the City, and standing on the balcony of our High Rise Apartment Building to remember the Resurrection of our Dear Lord.

After being pretty exhausted from a full day on Monday, longing for home, anxious to  be back with the girlies, I headed out to get some salsa, and ground pepper.  We were going to have scrambled eggs and toast, and I wanted some spice!  This was my "pre night shade" era where I could have SALSA!

However, Salsa is not a popular item in Ukraine.  IN fact, it was TERRIBLY expensive, so much so, that I could not justify the cost, so I decided to settle for ground pepper.
In the stores, you are not allowed to go behind the counter, you have to point for things, or say the correct word in Russian or Ukrainian. 
I waited in line and when I got to the counter I couldn't remember the word for pepper.  So, I said "salt' in Russian and then signaled "SALT....shaking  and ?? shaking my other hand hoping they would understand I wanted pepper."
She did! YEA!  But she gave me pepper corns, not ground.  So I explained with hand motions again.... doing the grinding motion. 
She got mad and kicked me out of line!  I was BOOTED!

So I went to the end of the line and tried again.  BOOTED AGAIN!
So I went to the end of the line and tried again!  I felt like I was going to cry, but sucked it up.
After all, I should have KNOWN that word, but I had left my book in the apartment.
The 3rd time, I purchased the peppercorns and figured I'd try to crush them myself.

When I got back, Erika was enjoying a luxurious bath and I started dinner.  But I couldn't get those pepper corns crused.  It was too hard and they kept shooting out from under the knife.

That is when MY window of tolerance shut and I began to cry.  Mike came in to find a hysterical wife saying, "I'M NOT COOKING ONE MORE MEAL!" "I'M NOT!"
I told him, "I want NACHOS and Jalapenos and SALSA!"  We had been SO GOOD not to go to McDonald's when there was all that wonderful Ukrainian food to be had! 
McDonald's was for coffee only, and the bathroom, but that is ANOTHER LONG STORY!<--Link

We knew there was a TGI FRIDAYS about 4 blocks from our Apartment, so we headed out.  When we arrived, the restaurant was FULL! There was no place to wait, especially with a wheel chair, but we insisted we would wait!

Then, this man's voice that was DISTINCTLY AMERICAN spoke up and said, "I'm at a table for 4 and I'm by myself, I'll move!" 
We said, "Don't Move, can we just join you?"  He said, "Sure!"
So we introduced ourselves, and he asked the obvious.... "Why are you in Ukraine!"
We explained to him why we were there, and told him all about the miracles that took place to even get there, and all the adventures we were having.

Erika entertained us with her new ability to Sing "Jesus Loves Me"..... every time she heard the word "Cheese", she'd break into song. LOL   (cheesus loves me) :)


We told him about my pepper nightmare and need for spice, and then told him we needed one more miracle.  As we explained to him our predicament about needing to change our Airline Tickets by the very next day, or we'd have to buy new ones, he was intrigued. 
"What airline are you with?"

We told him we were with Delta Airlines.   He got this huge smile on his face and said, "Well, it looks like your last miracle has taken place!"
"He then picked up his knapsack.... It said, "Delta Airlines" right on it!  He was the NEW DIRECTOR for Delta, and had been in Ukraine for 6 weeks, originally from Atlanta Georgia!

We couldn't believe it!  He pointed to a building across the street from the restaurant, and said, that is the new building. Sorry about the phones, nothing happens quickly here. LOL
And then, he said, when you come tomorrow, ask for me, I'll come out and make sure you are taken care of.
The next day, we did just that.  When he came out, he explained to the two ladies that were there what we needed.  They were so kind, and as they were looking for the best deal on tickets, both had little tears streaming down their faces; happy that Miss Erika was headed to her forever home.

I will never forget how God even used my own selfishness of not wanting to cook, to bless us so very much with one more confirmation that HE was in control, even to the point of the mean pepper lady who kept on kicking me out of line! :)
And we RESTED in HIM.

And then, about 4 hours into our second flight, my mind was numb staring at that airplane going across the sea.....:)
And I began to struggle with fear thinking, "We have no money! We have to start over after being out of business for the last 5 weeks....we now have 3 children!  Are we crazy??"
And as soon as I thought it, I confessed....."Lord, you know all things... If you can get us through Ukraine and back, while it is supposed to be closed, arrange for the details of our trip home, and provide all you have provided.....I'm SURE you will not abandon us!

When we finally made it home, it as very late.  We headed straight to bed and sort of went into hybernation.  Our ministry group  had decorated our home, filled it with food, and left all sorts of cards on the counter. 
At about 3:00 in the afternoon, I was opening cards and then found an envelope with $$.... a GIFT to us from those who love the Lord.  
And another thing was placed in my heart to remember God's Faithfulness to His Children.

And she really does love to dance. :)

Erika's Ski Trip

 Erika had a wonderful time! We were all very excited to pick her up at the airport after it was over.... We finished off her weekend by taking the family out to Chipotle, so we could just chill, sit and talk. :)

Oh MY! This girl has NO FEAR!  She went to the second highest drop off called Mary Jane and sledded down.

Here are some highlights of her trip!

 At the airport

 Take Off

 Mountains

 There were several staff members from Texas Scottish Rite hospital.

 Getting ready to go down.

 The cooks

 Y also goes to camp in the summer with Erika and Sarah

 Dr. Herring and his lovely wife Kathy.

 Erika and H.

 Colorado refrigerator Magnet! :)  Thank you!