A Difficult Decision

20 years ago, we made the very difficult decision along with Erika who was now 8 years old, to have her feet amputated. It is funny how the Lord has a way of preparing you for the unthinkable. We knew Erika had pain and we knew there were many scars and wounds on her feet. We never thought about amputation. Her braces were not in the right direction which meant her legs didn't bend at all. Once they were removed, her legs could bend a little bit! When we went to get Erika all we knew from the orphanage director was "her joint don't work".

After consultation with the orthopedic surgeon, his suggestion was amputation for the best life outcome for her. This was a whole new level of thinking! And I reminded myself that Sarah was an amputee already and I was already familiar with prosthetic legs and surgeries. Isn't it amazing how God doesn't remove our obstacles but walks us right through them? He provided for Erika and Sarah to be together for life, orphans together, amputees together, sisters together!

So, the decision was made and Miss Erika wanted Purple Tennis shoes which went on the gurney right into the operating room! Purple tennis shoes were a symbol of hope! While we didn't know what the outcome would be, it didn't matter, it would be better than the pain she was dealing with all the time and her inability to really walk.

Would she really be amublatory? It was a chance we all agreed to take. And is she! OH YES! She walked down the aisle at her wedding to her favorite song. She learned how to drive with no accommodations, and she walks by faith.

Mike's dad Ed, made this slide show for us and I'm, so thankful he did. What a journey. And YES she walks and it is such a joyful thing in my heart!

A Blast From the Past!

This is what you do in Ukraine when you are waiting and you can't communicate very well because she speaks Russian and even though you studied Russian for 6 months before going, you can only remember Spanish! Precious Erika!!! This was 20 years ago! My how we have changed!

Erika and Donato

During the time that the kids were getting to know each other and beginning their relationship,they determined to go to museums and parks and try to go to as many as they could in a year. They were quite creative in their dating. I seem to remember one particular time, they decided to rent a scooter in Down Town Dallas and Donato would drive while holding onto Erika. She has that daring spirit in her that wants to do things! He obliged...

All I know is, a couple of weeks later, I was told of the "incident", where they hit a bump and she slipped through his arms and then.... he stopped, tried to get to her to help her and accidently stepped on her chest. LOL There is a song we wrote about that. ......HAHA His description of taking her into a local CVS to buy bandages and going into the bathroom to bandage her up was hilarious. He said, "It looked like a murder scene." Haha The DR. however (Love that Dr. at Scottish Rite Hospital) , said, "It looks like you've been having fun!" Ha. She was fine; just a bit of road rash. These two grew together as a sweet couple that would come over and play spades with us, go to his family and visit, and just be adorable!

Donato's mom and I decided to "meet" stealthfully....

We had such a great time. We met for breakfast and talked and talked and talked, and then we sorta got kicked out of Denny's, which BTW was NOT crowded at all! HOW do you get kicked out of Denny's???? Anyhoo. We took that photo and sent it to the kids, who btw kept telling us, "You two are really going to like each other!" ... We got this in return.

So we sent this in return!

We had a great time! And then our families began to blend together and here we are 5 years later with the kids married 4 plus years and all of us loving them and each other! They are perfect for each other. They are both adventurous; you will find that out for sure if you follow their You Tube Channel... I'm so proud of them.

(Donato's brother is the photo bomber) Haha.

Adventures at The Grand Canyon

Mike and I only took short vacations to visit family in Oklahoma on holidays like Memorial day or Labor day. We had one unusual trip to Michigan for Thanksgiving, and it was great seeing more extended family up there. When we married we already had 4 sons, and there was not a lot of extra beyond clothing and groceries to spend. Family was lovely and the perfect place to vacation with the children.


When we had just 2 girls at home, we surprised them with a trek to the Grand Canyon. It was their first REAL getaway and we knew that our time with them was very short. We wanted to give them some great memories.
I hiked the Bright Angel Trail as a teenager and had such fond memories of falling stars at night, sleeping by the Colorado River and the treacherous climb up. Going down was Easy Peasy. Going up? It took me about 12 hours. Now, we knew we were not going to Hike down to the bottom and back up at our ages! So, we started our treck by stopping in Albuquerque NM,

then the Petrified National Forest in Arizona, and our final destination, The Grand Canyon.

I told the girls to close their eyes until we were right at a place driving to the South Rim and the Bright Angel Lodge so they could take in the whole scene at the same time. There were Oooh's and Ahhh's and much excitement!

We had such a lovely time that Mike and I went 2 years later for our 35th Anniversary. :) When the girls went with us we stayed in Williams AZ which was really fun. We stayed at the Rail Road Car Motel right near Bearazona, which is a Bear drive thru and zoo.
This time we won the Lottery getting a slot at the Bright Angel Cabins! We had such a wonderful time together! Here are some highlights:

What an amazing trip we had! This was our cabin.

The Cabins do not have AC so it was a little warm during the day, but we were out hiking anyway. At night we decided to go and lay on the ground outside by the mouth of the trail to see the stars. As a Kid, I had no worries and just enjoyed the sight. As an adult, after about 15 min we looked at each other and said, we are in a desert, National Park, and there could be snakes! So we went back inside... Ha. We had the best time, and I was so happy to share my great memories of the Canyon as a kid, with the girls and with Mike. It was a dream come true!

Donato and Erika's Wedding!

My blog had shut down just after Sarah's wedding. Erika and Donato got married 6 months later! sooo 4 years later.....

She had a beautiful wedding with many special guests. Her wedding was a definite tip to Ukraine as it was surrounded by Sunflowers. Big Sunflowers! Donato's aunt decorated the reception hall with sunflowers cascading down the stair bannister and everything was just beautiful!

Every wedding has something funny happen. This time, was no different. I noticed during the early morning before the wedding we had run out of coffee cups. Then I noticed there were no cups, napkins silverware or plates for cake. The caterer's brought larger plates for the food. So as she was getting ready I went in and asked, "Did you plan for drink cups and cake plates, napkins etc? I got this hilarious stare. "Don't worry! I've got it!" Of course Uncle Bob was on his way down from Oklahoma and about 1/2 an hour away. And my sweet friend Lori was on her way. They stopped at every walmart between where they were at the time and the wedding location and bought all the cups and plates and napkins and silverware possible.

SAVED just in time! All was well, I let the bride know it was all taken care of and nobody knew, except you who are now reading this and a few sweet volunteers. :)

You can follow Erika and Donato's adventures in Europe on a 4 month honeymoon by clicking the hightlight.

The Adventures of Donato and Erika

After Donato and Erika married, they waited a year due to covid restrictions and then set off on a 4 month honey moon in EUROPE! They traveled to many different countries and recoded much of it so we could all follow. It was so fun!!! If you go to their site on You Tube you will see some amazing things! They came home to stay with us for a bit until they found a new apartment and caught up with job life. But what an experience! I'm so glad they did it!

These Two.... :)

They bring us joy! :)