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!

Our Sarah

Who would have thought that not so long ago this sweet baby girl who was interested riding her first bike, would grow up, get married and become a wonderful mother to TWO little girls! Her newest baby was born yesterday! We do not post pictures of the babies but just know, they are so adorable. :) That little girl hanging out on her daddy's back while he fixed her bike and then learned how to ride it, is still so very precious to us. What a life the Lord has blessed us with!

These Two.... :)

They bring us joy! :)

WHAT A WEEK!

We began our week with a wedding for James and Sarah. She is now Sarah Norby. :) Then came a huge ice storm and TWO birthdays! After that, Albina got engaged. It has been a very blessed week! I can't show any wedding pictures until the bride and groom return from their honeymoon, but I can show a very joyful Albina who is now engaged to her sweet Keith. :) We have another wedding coming up soon for Miss Erika also! I'm just amazed at God's goodness and blessing in our lives. :) A few photos from this week.

Joyful Moments

These sweet girls have been together most of their lives..... AND NOW

They are together in these special moments too. :) It has been a bit since I have written and much has transpired. But tonight, I want to write about something very dear and special. When Sarah came home to us in May of 2005, she was a bundle of joyful energy. So much had happened in her short little life and she had traveled from Ukraine to Texas via a different family. Much happened in her first 10 months in America that was NOT GOOD, but GOD had another plan for HER and for US. We were NOT world travelers or very adventerous. We were just simple, living our lives folks and happened to have adopted our Anna who was distantly related through marriage. We had raised our sons, and then we were enjoying raising Anna. Sarah came to us through an email. We answered that Email and our social worker was on it! What a HUGE blessing she was to us! So sweet and funny and spunky! She could speak a very good Texan! But she didn't understand much! LOL After just 6 weeks of being home she started to talk about her best friend left behind in Ukraine. She missed her so much. So at 6 years old she was an instrument of the Lord to bring her sister, Erika home to America. There were MANY people in our lives, used as God's intruments, both financially and committed through much prayer. We were sent a photo from Papa Dima, and then we found out that she NEEDED to be adopted SOON! If she hadn't, she would have gone to an institution for the rest of her life! Why? Because she had arthrogryposis. That's it! A physical handicap can land you in a permanent institution in Ukraine with no way out. Our paperwork, for Erika's adoption appeared on the director's desk on the very same DAY that she was being sent to an institution. Her bags were packed. And then, after an email between us and the director, they were UNPACKED! She didn't know what was happening...... But God.... So, 7 months later, we went to Ukraine to get her. There is much on this blog about that. You can look into the archives. (starting with the very first post) 5 years later, we adopted another sweetheart and completed our family with an 11 year old from Russia who had been adopted 2x's in the US. Life was doing well and then we had some HUGE struggles. This post is not about those struggles. IT is about GOD's faithfulness to us as a family to bring us THROUGH them to the other side. And HE DID! We have been enjoying all of our children and grand children, watching our younger girls work through college and entering adulthood over the last few years. They are STILL room mates with a dear childhood friend Marion. They live about 15 minutes from us in an apartment and we see them regularly. We have also seen some very special young men regularly too. :) And THEY are ALL what this post is about. You see, these two young men, have devoted themselves to these precious young women and have asked to marry them. It took place about 3 weeks apart. We knew it was coming, but oh the joy that it has happened and plans are in the making. :) Our girls are so in love and committed to godly young men who cherish them. And we get to cherish them all! I am in AWE of all that God has done in their lives, how HE has woven our lives together and not just OURS, but MANY MANY lives who have been touched by God's precious and loving plan for all of us. Not only do we gain sons, we gain their loving families also. So our family becomes all the larger. What blessings they are to us! So here are some very special photos.... Donato and Erika's photos were taken by a stranger on the beach.... :) James and Sarah's photos were taken by Erika, hidden away where Sarah couldn't see her. :)

Family Time

It has been a while since we had several family members gathered together! We enjoyed the time and it was so fun watching Sebastian play. We always enjoy visits from everybody! Donato and Erika always entertain us. :)

I think Sebastian is a Toy Story Fan! He loved playing with the phone. I think Auntie Sarah thoroughly enjoyed playing with him. What a fun visit!