Can Anybody Identify this Cute Little Guy?

I say he's green. Mike says I 'm color blind. :)
Any Ideas? He doesn't look like a typical rat snake to me.

New Skates for Sarah

Sarah has been saving her money to buy a pair of roller blades. She got the skating bug after our ice skating treat in Februrary. She saved over 30 dollars over this year and decided that Skates would be a great buy and something she would love. So she and Daddy went on a skate hunt on Saturday night. He told her they would go and "look" and price them. Well, when they got there, skates were on sale, and there was this fabulous pair marked down that even expand as you grow! He couldn't resist that good of a buy, so he helped her out with the rest of the cost. They both came home excited with their news. I think Sarah is a bit taller these days. :)
I had to turn the camera sideways to get her all in. :)

BCLC Creativity :)

A little girl who shall remain Unnamed gave me permission to write this. :)

Over the last few days, I had noticed our sweet little Noelle's (all our girl's middle names are Noelle which means God's Gift) behavior taking an unpleasant shift. She was being grouchy, only thinking of herself and not others, and just had a dissatisfied countenance. If you knew this little girl, you would never think these things about her. She is carefree and fun, always smiling, always happy.

I had to correct her 3 times by taking her aside to my rocking chair and talking about her attitude. For some reason, I didn't feel like I was getting through.

In the back of my mind, I was thinking, something is up... Is she beginning the emotional swings of puberty? Is she just plain being sinful? Is something horrible bothering her? What is it?
I would ask, and she would just say, "I don't know!" She also seemed abit confused when I talked to her about her attitude, as to what I was talking about. She wasn't seeing it the same way.
Another Noelle had bothered her, or she simply just felt she was RIGHT.....Yikes! :)

I had been observing and watching and praying and trying to figure her out. One thing that kept coming to mind was that she was angry. Dissatisfaction is another type of anger or resentment, as is entitlement. She seemed to be feeing rather "entitled"......

In the morning, all the Noelle's had slept in the same room on the same bed, and this happy sweetie pie, woke up grouchy. She was bothering her sister, and I was hearing from the other room, her singing a non sense song loudly, and finally I was feeling like "this is the last straw".
She was doing it to be annoying and laying on top of her sister to tease.

I called her, and I heard a louder song. I called her louder and heard a LOUDER song! GOOD GRIEF! This had not happened before.

So, I went in and asked her to come to my room. She was in the rocking chair with me, and Mike was in the room getting ready for church. He sat down and we both wanted to talk to her.
It was like trying to reach a brick wall.

Then, I felt like the Lord Showed me that she was hiding anger, and the events since Friday, the reading about the little boy being sent away, the news reports etc. brought a lot of anxiety and anger flooding back into her little heart. She mentioned it to me, about the little boy the day before.

Mike got a balloon out of the package that we are planning to make our Solar System with, and I aksed her, "Would you like to see how Anger and fear, can effect you?" She was intrigued by the game.
And took the bite.... "Sure!" big smile......

So, I blew up the ballon a tiny bit, and I said, all babies cry when they are born. They are probably a little scared and a little angry because they are cold. So this is your baby anger.
Then we talked about how babies need love and affection and attention and food..... I blew into the balloon a little more..... You were afraid being all alone. Then, I talked about how when she broke her hip she was MAD MAD MAD because they tied her in bed at the hospital. (she was in Ukraine and Papa Dima told us about it) So we blew some more air into the balloon.
Then, I told her that it was her adoption day and she had so much hope for going with a new mommy and daddy! And we let some air out of the balloon..... not all of it, just a little, because she was still scared.
Then, after she was here, things didn't go so well..... I added a LOT more air, as there was A LOT of anger and fear at that time. We went over some certain stories she has told me, and added air for each one. Our balloon was getting quite big!

Then, I told her about when we went to pick her up she looked so scared! More air.
I talked to her about how she smiled and covered it up, but I knew she was terribly scared.
But she became happy when she was home just 1 day! So we let some air out.

Then, we talked about when the family wanted to come and visit her and how she burst into tears for fear they would take her back.... More air.

We talked about how mommy and daddy left to go and get Erika, and she had to stay behind.
She told me blow more, I was REALLY scared. She was scared we wouldn't come back. :(

She was really getting into this balloon thing now. :) So, we talked about her fears of not having blankets, of going to the bathroom on her own, of being in the dark, of being alone, etc. etc.

Our balloon was VERY Large!

And then, I asked her, "What do you think happens when a little girl holds in all this anger and fear and needs to keep adding more to her list?" She looked at me and said, "She explodes?"

YES! YES!
"You see sweetie, you cannot hold all those fears and all those hurts inside, sooner or later, they will make you explode. BURST! And that is not good for anybody. But there is a way to let it go... let the air out.... safely. "
So, now she was totally engaged. :) We talked about things, many which we had talked about before. We talked about forgiveness, and moving on, and we talked about how we can try on our own to forgive, but REALLY, we need the Lord to help us. We cannot do it on our own.
She began to cry, and she prayed with me and asked the Lord to heal her wounds and her heart and to help her not to be afraid or angry. She was serious and sincere in her prayer and then we snuggled. Our hearts met once again, and we SLOWLY let the air out of the balloon, giving it to the Lord and letting HIM bear our burdens of sadness, fear and anger.

I'm telling you, ALL DAY, she has been a sweetheart of a girl. She is back to her normal self.
I am learning that healing takes place in layer after layer. We think things are conquered and we find that there is another layer like in an onion. One thing is exposed and dealt with, and there still may be a scar on the layer below. :)

I am so thankful for my sweet little girl. She teaches me so much about love and compassion.
I cannot see how there would have been any other way to reach her heart, other than to compassionately point her to the one who can HEAL all of our wounds and make us anew once again.
HIS mercies are new every morning. :)

Thank you my Sweet Noelle for letting me share part of your precious life so others can take joy with us. :)

A BLACK EYE FOR THE ADOPTION COMMUNITY

I am so angry right now. Yesterday, news broke out, that a 7 year old boy who was adopted from Russia last year (Late September) was returned to Russia BY HIMSELF, with a note in his backpack stating that the mother no longer wanted him. I have read several articles that are now hitting the American newspapers today, and the ramifications of what happened are going to effect the Adoption Community in a huge way.

I know of several families who were in the adoption process, have already MET their children, and the agency they were using, just happened to be the same agency this mother used.
Their license is now suspended. This means, these poor families are now in limb and must wait.
How long? We don't know, but my gut tells me, long.
So now, the children they long to hold, are 1/2 a world away, and will also have to wait to have parents, because of another's selfishness.

Everybody is wondering about the Post Placement reports.... WHAT ABOUT THEM? They should have had 1 by now, and how did it go? Nobody knows.
The note stated that the little boy was violent and the mother was lied to.
I do not know if the circumstances are true, if they are made up, if the child was simply adjusting or anything specific. I was not there. BUT I DO KNOW that there is HELP available
for those who need it and are in distress. If this little boy needed psychiatric care, it IS available. There are also those within the adoption community willing to help.

It appears that instead of reaching out for help, as any parent would do, IF that is truly the case,
they just shipped him back to Russia ..... how is that in HIS best interest?
As parents, we are to do what is best for our children, to protect them, to care for them and love them. How was this any of those things?
Parenting is not easy, adoption isn't easy. Parenting an International Child isn't easy.
In the worst of cases, there is dissolution/disruption, where the child finds a family who may be more suited to meet his needs....

This baby was home for 6 months. That is hardly enough time for him to get settled in! He spent 6 years with a single parent who was an alcoholic, 1 year in an orphanage and then here to the United States. Wouldn't you EXPECT him to have some trauma behaviors?

I am so sad for this broken little boy. I am sad for his future, and I am terribly sad for those parents who cannot fulfill their dreams right now because Russia is planning to Halt U.S. Adoptions.
This time, I fear it is for real.

On my side bar, there is a Beyond Consequences Button and link to the Beyond Consequences chat area. If you are having problems with your children, adopted or not, this is a great resource for help. Heather Forbes offers phone counseling , as do many of her aides.
I too am a BCLC (beyond consequences logic and control) trained parent coach.
My friend JJ is also. There is also Christine from Smiles and Trials on my sidebar, and Jeanne from Blessed by a Child, ALL of us would be willing to help, if you need help.
OR, at least give some ideas for more professional help.

There are resources for those who need them....
Dr. Bruce Perry
Dr. Karyn Purvis
Dr. Daniel Hughes
Heather Forbes LCSW
Bryan Post LCSW
and many, MANY more.

For a newly adopted child, I would certainly say, we MUST MUST MUST be ever so cautious to be tender and gentle with them. They are terrified, in defense mode and come with loads of baggage. Untangling that baggage is a true art form. To just jump in and expect a normal child is insanity.

PLEASE PLEASE LOVE YOUR CHILDREN!

Our Mom

Our mom, Lois Minich is in the hospital tonight. Mike's Dad, Ed, died a few months ago from the treatments for a Brain Tumor. Our mom, has had many health problems over the years, and in December, was found to have clogged arteries in her legs. She had JUST moved to Arizona, to be near our dear sister Carla, and brother Dave, but is now in the hospital with chest pains. We are saddened that things are going down very quickly. :(

Please pray for her, as she is having such a hard time. Pray also for Carla and Dave and their families as they work hard to help her get the care that she needs. :(

I am so thankful for them.

Love and Life Giving Water

So what is it anyway. Is it an action? Is it an emotion? Is it action because of emotion? Is it an action in spite of emotion? Is it a noun? Is it a verb?

Yes. :)

We do not have enough words in our language to describe love. We use the word love for everything from "I love potato chips" to "I love my husband". We certainly don't love potato chips as we would our families?

Corinthians 13 tells us what love looks like. "Love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It dos not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful.
It doesn't not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth. Love Bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love NEVER ends.

John 3:16 tells us what Love looks like: "For God SO LOVED the world that he gave His only Begotten son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
"For God so loved" - This is how God showed His love- by sending His son.

1John 3:1- "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called "children of God"...
1John 4:7-9 Beloved let us love one another. For love is from God and everyone that loves has been born of God and knows God. He who does not love, does not know God because GOD IS LOVE. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent HIS only SON into the world that we might live through him.

Tonight we studied more of the Woman at the Well in John chapter 4. Jesus was so kind to her. He did not condemn her because of her lifestyle. He was willing to drink water from her "contaminated" Samaritan water vessel. She knew he should not even be talking to her, yet she was drawn to him. As he talked to her about "water", she was intrigued..... "give me this water so I may never thirst again and won't have to come here to draw water"........
He gave her that water that day, and her life was changed forever.
She didn't know much, but she knew enough to know that this was no ordinary man asking her for a drink.

Oh to drink from the life giving well, to have our thirst satisfied by the only one who can satisfy.
What an amazing event in history. Jesus Christ, came to heal the broken hearted, to restore to make whole those whom he came to restore.
Jesus is such a wonderful example for us to follow. Well, the PERFECT example to follow. He
did not run around with an attitude of condemnation, but an attitude of restoration. He loved people and reached into their very souls and brought to them that life giving water.
Thirsty?

Dance Class

The girlies started attending a small dance class at Scottish Rite Hospital. It is an adaptive class for special needs kids. They really enjoyed it. There were mostly younger children, but they still had a good time. We are looking for a local dance class close to home, but decided to give this one a try. It is only for the month of April.

The teacher was very good and kept the children engaged in all sorts of dances and games and they came home well exercised. :)

What a Wonderfully Full Week

I am rejoicing in the wonderful week we had. It was BUSY, but a good sort of busy.
We started with our Seder on Tuesday night. Then we had an Easter Lunch with friends and the girls had a wonderful time. We watched the movie Jesus of Nazareth over the week, a little at a time. It is about 6 hours long. (just finished it tonight)
We were able to visit our Children's church in Mckinney and had a wonderful Easter dinner and musical. We then went to Ministry Group last night and came home to collapse at around midnight.
Easter Sunday morning was wonderful and the message was awesome. After that, we went over to a friend's house for an Easter Lunch. What a wonderful season to remember the Resurrection of our Savior.

Spring is certainly here. Everything is alive and greening up. Such a wonderful time of year.

Easter Song

I remember when Easter song was written by Annie Herring. She is one of the sisters in the group 2nd Chapter of Acts, which was quite popular during my youth. The video was taken in what looks like to be the 70's.... But the sound is great. They were AMAZING and this still remains one of my all time favorite Easter Songs.
Annie said that she asked the Lord for a gift for Easter, and He gave her "Easter Song". :)

The Power of the Cross

Erika Made a Basket This Time

Without the bounce first. She just threw it in! :) Yea Erika!

Good Friday

We attended Good Friday Services with our older children at McKinney Bible Church.
It was really a neat time. There was a pot luck and then a singing time. We enjoyed the Adult Choir and Children's Choir. What a nice group of people. We especially enjoyed seeing our children and grand children.

Passover

We celebrated Passover tonight with our first family Seder. I think we are going to do this every year. It was very meaningful. We wanted to attend a Seder, but couldn't find one for tonight, but we were able to watch one on the internet, participating with Baruch Hashem, a messianic fellowship in Dallas.


I looked up how to prepare the Seder meal on the internet, and had everything prepared.
The girls were especially excited about being able to eat! The Seder included an explanation of Seder and it's history, so was a little long winded, but really good.

Instead of Roasted Eggs, I used hard boiled. We had horseradish, celery, eggs, (instead of parsley we used romaine lettuce, we used salted water with vinegar, and raisins with sunflower seeds.
I didn't know what to do with not having bones from a lamb, and when Mike asked about it, I said, "I'm not sure what to do".... and then, it dawned on me, I need to check the freezer. And low and behold there was a Leg of Lamb from last year FROZEN and ROASTED already! :)
So, we added Lamb. :)Here are a few pics of the girls eating "Bitter HERBS"


I was really amazed at the Matza bread. The 3 pieces of bread in one bag, and the middle one taken away and broken.
We really had an interesting night. :)
I think Erika enjoyed it.

Easter Week

What are your plans to celebrate Easter Week?

We usually watch a little bit of the Movie Jesus of Nazareth and finish it on Friday.
We plan to make our tomb pudding .

You get a pie plate and put a 1/2 styrofoam cup on it's side. Then, you cover the pie plate and cup with chocolate pudding. Crush chocolate cookies to make it look like dirt. Put a stone over the entrance to the "tomb", and set soldiers to guard it. And then on Easter Sunday Morning, before everybody gets up, you roll the stone away. :) The kids like it.

We wanted to attend a Seder this year, but had trouble locating one. We did find a large Messianic Jewish Synagogue in Dallas that is having a Seder tomorrow night. They are going to live stream it on computer because they didn't have enough room for everybody who wanted to participate. They were so kind to send us a link to watch at home.

If you are interested, here is the link.

http://baruchhashemsynagogue.org/video/stream.html

It will start at 6:45 PM Central Time on Tuesday night the 30th of March.

Easter time is very exciting, because HE LIVES!

Sally's Blog Post Today

I just wanted to say, that I was so blessed by Sally Clarkson's blog post today.
She put what was on my heart last night, into wonderful words to read this a.m. :)
Her blog is on my side bar and it is called "I Take Joy"

Please read and enjoy. :)

Resting

One of my favorite modern hymns was written by the Gettys. "When Trials Come".

When Trials Come

When trials come no longer fear
For in the pain our God draws near
To fire a faith worth more than gold
And there His faithfulness is told
And there His faithfulness is told

Within the night I know Your peace
The breath of God brings strength to me
And new each morning mercy flows
As treasures of the darkness grow
As treasures of the darkness grow

I turn to Wisdom not my own
For every battle You have known
My confidence will rest in You
Your love endures Your ways are good
Your love endures Your ways are good

When I am weary with the cost
I see the triumph of the cross
So in it’s shadow I shall run
Till You complete the work begun
Till You complete the work begun

One day all things will be made new
I’ll see the hope You called me to
And in your kingdom paved with gold
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old
Keith and Krystin Getty

God's plan in our pain is more than we can comprehend or understand. I cannot imagine life without an eternal mindset. God takes our broken lives and makes sense out of them.

I want the Breath of God to give me strength.
I want my faith to be gold.
I want HIS mercy and for Him to draw close to me.
I want His wisdom.

And in having those things, I will have HIS rest.

Our Treadmill Is Here!

I love to walk, but lost my walking buddy back in August. It is really hard to walk around our area, because of dogs running loose... so I used to drive down to a track to walk. Then, came my shoulder episode which ate up 6 months of my life. So NOW, I'm ready to walk again!

Mike and I have been saving our change in a huge jar for about 8 years. We counted it, and had enough to buy something we have both been wanting for a LONG time. :)
We bought a Treadmill! I am so excited to be able to do my walking indoors! Mike has needed to walk for a while too, so this is really going to be fun. :)

We found a great sale, and purchased a Livestrong. Mike can plug in his phone, which also has an mp3 player and we listen to music and walk. It has 12 programs to choose from for exercise, a 12% incline and it keeps track of miles, calorie burning, journals your program and tracks your heart beat. You can also make your own exercise program or just walk or jog.

We both tried it out after getting it put together. I have never in my life seen so much packaging for a product. :)
So our next work out will be to get all this to the trash. :)

Can't Belive It!

7 Inches of snow on the 2nd day of Spring, with drifts more than that! How FUN!
Our friends visited church with us today, because their services were canceled, so it was a double treat. :)

And for a triple treat, we made more snow ice cream when we got home from church. YUM!

The Annual Spring Break Zoo Trip

I took the girls and grand girls to the zoo once again this year. I am so glad Katie still wants to go, even though she is almost 14. I still like to go too! Since zoo food is majorly expensive, we stopped at Taco Bueno before we went in.

Anna was laughing so hard, telling me about a part of the book she is reading.
I love it that she really likes her books. She is a true Gilbert Morris Fan!Lillian played it safe this year on the carousel. She sat on the bench with me. :)
Last year, she was so funny. I took this video of her.

Here is Sarah waiting to go in and feed the birds. :)
This year, we did something knew. We fed birds in the bird exhibit. I was amazed that the zoo keeper knew each bird's name individually, and said he memorized them by their feather patterns. :)

Lillian was a little scared at first. After all, how often does a bird land on your head? LOL
But she pulled herself together and fed birds. :)

I think her favorite place was in this giant Dinosaur Egg. :)


Anna is a good bargainer. She stumped the information guy this year. He didn't know what kind of skull she brought, other than it was some type of bird skull. She then told him rather matter of factly that her MOTHER killed this bird, we buried it, and then she dug it up to bring to him. LOL

Of course his next question was quite appropriate, I thought..... "Did he taste good?" :)

Getting Ready For Easter

Spring is upon us, and one of the biggest Christian Holidays during this season is Easter.
I must say, the older I get, the more I just love Easter and the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I love to prepare the children and get them thinking about what was going on during the time of Passover, teaching them what the passover was about, how the Jews put the blood on the door posts in Egypt so that the angel of death would passover....

It was during the Passover season that Jesus was Crucified.

I love to retell , over and over, about how G-d, the CREATOR G-d, redeemed His creation in Christ. Christ, the everlasting, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, emptying himself to become a servant unto death, FOR US.....came, in the form of man, grew up, and obeyed the father Perfectly in every way. He was our Passover lamb.... who took our sin onto himself and became sin for us.... and he died. Totally died! But then.... Up From The Grave He Arose! He was fully risen! He IS NOT DEAD BUT ALIVE!
What amazing Love that God had for His creation, that though we are corrupted by sin, He has chosen to redeem us.
He calls on all men to repent, and respond to the good news! He has come, He restores, and He has risen!

Over the last several weeks we have been studying the Gospel of John. The famous verse "John 3:16" came up, and along with it, the issue of "How do you present the gospel"?
There was much discussion.... and then some self searching. There are so many ways the gospel is presented in scripture, but I wanted to see what Christ said about himself... After all, He is either who he said he was, OR a big fat liar!

He called himself the Light. He called himself the WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE, He was called the Word. John 1: IN the beginning was the Word, and the word was with G-d and the Word was G-D. He was in the beginning with G-d. All things were made through Him, and without him, was not anything made, that was made.

As I went through my study, I was seeing Christ minister to so many hurting people. "Take up your bed and walk", "If you ask me for water, I will give you life giving water and you will thirst no more", "Rise", the lame man, the blind man, the man who could not hear, the woman with the issue of blood, the woman caught in adultry, and the list goes on, and on and on.

He wasn't here just to make people's temporary lives feel better but to pick them up and turn them around totally both outwardly and inwardly. He was here to REVEAL G-d's very nature;G-d's will for his creation. He was here to REFLECT the Father PERFECTLY in every way. And he did it, in the form of Man. Jesus was his given name as a baby, his Last name was not "Christ", like Mr. and Mrs. Christ had a baby named Jesus. It was Christ, as in, that is his Title. Messiah.
Jesus was eternally existent. He has no beginning and he has no end. Our creator came down and interrupted History, with a personal visit.... He walked among us, and we hid.... He was the light..... many hid in the darkness, not wanting their deeds exposed, but those who believe, come into the marvelous light and walk in it.

And how do we walk in Light? We become one with Christ. He is in us. The Holy Spirit comes in and changes us, opens our eyes, and gives us NEW LIFE. We go from walking dead men, to living, abiding, children.

For a guy to have lived just 33 years on this earth.... it is amazing the impact His life and presence had here. I cannot believe he was "just a good man", or that what happened isn't true.
Why else would every single one of the disciples be willing to go to their death? When He was crucified, the disciples scattered in fear. Roman scourging and crucifixion was a horrible heinous, thing. But something happened. When Christ resurrected, they truly believed. And every single one of them were martyred, except John. They tried to martyr him, but he didn't die, and then he wrote 1,2,3rd John and Revelation.

Another post on this subject from 2007

How Did it Happen?

Christine asked, "How did you wind up getting both girls?"
The Lord.

When Mike and I were empty nesters, or near- empty nesters, we met our daughter Anna. She was a foster child here in the U.S. She asked us to be her parents. We were told she asks everybody that.... :) I'm sure she did. But it pricked our hearts. All children want parents, and to have a permanent family.
After prayer and paperwork, Anna came to our home. It was FAST. We didn't realize how fast until we became more aware of the adoption world.

After Anna had been home for about a year, she asked for a sister. We told her, "If God wants you to have a sister, he'll bring one."That is when we got the email about Sarah. Sarah is in the red sweater in the above picture. This was taken in Ukraine, before we knew her. When we contacted our social worker she was so excited... "I already had you picked!" 5 days later.... we had Sarah in our home.
Sarah was from Ukraine and came with an entire entourage of people. Papa Dima, Hal from the Pentagon, just to name a couple. :) She was 5 (almost 6) After being here just 3 days, we had phone calls and I looked at her and said, "Wow, for 5 years old, you sure do know some important people!" LOL
Sarah settled in just fine, and then began to open up abit about her life. She kept telling us about this little girl that was her best friend. They used to do hair together and she couldn't bend her arms, but she could do hair! And she was nice and not mean. And she wore funny shoes. And, she was worried when I left.... I hope she is ok..... etc.

So, I called those people back who called us, for information about who this little girl could be.
I saw a picture Sarah had brought with her, and the little girl in the picture had the saddest look on a child I had ever seen. In fact, it haunted me. I could not sleep.
( I took a picture of the picture I am talking about. Sorry it isn't clearer)The picture was taken on Sarah's goodbye day. Sarah was smiling and Erika was profoundly sad.
We were given a new picture, and I had it on the desktop of the computer for Sarah to see in the a.m. She was so funny when she saw it! It's her! How did you do that mommy? HOW? :)This is the picture Papa Dima sent to us.
Then, Anna and Sarah were both jumping up and down saying "Let's adopt her, let's adopt her!"

With the information I had, I found out she was available for adoption, but Mike and I couldn't possibly be the people to do this. After all, we already raised 4 boys, then 2 girls were here and we were after all, getting older! (I was still in my 40's lol)

So we asked around, sent emails, and let everybody we knew, know about this little girl. We were told she was very sweet and a "good girl" from Papa Dima. We were also told, she was too old to stay where she was, and would be going to a terrible place on the other side of Ukraine. It was a mental asylum.
No, Erika is not mentally ill; but there were no places for her to go.

We called our pastor and told him we were concerned for her. I blurted out, "We would do it, but it is impossible! Who has that kind of money?" He very wisely said, "With God, nothing is impossible!" He was so right!
A week later, an anonymous person came to us and asked us why we were not the ones adopting Erika? I let him know that it had to do with finances.
He said, "Is that all?" IS THAT ALL? That is quite a bit!
He said, "If you'll adopt her, I'll pay for it."

So, here we go, having NO CLUE, what we were doing, got a hold of Sarah's old agency and signed up. We payed our money and then adoptions shut down in Ukraine.
However, God was bigger than all that.
7 months later, they opened back up; but only for Special needs children, older children and for those who had already adopted Ukrainian children and FILLED OUT THEIR PAPERWORK~!
Though Sarah was Ukrainian, we adopted her domestically and we were not really obligated to do the paper work. We adopted her as an American Citizen. But we felt morally responsible to do so, even though she had only been with us for 6 weeks before the first report was due. Had we not done that..... I hate to think what could have happened.

God's hand was on Erika. She was supposed to leave the orphanage the VERY DAY our intent to adopt letter showed up on the director's desk, and he emailed us right away. "Are you sure you are going to adopt?"
Erika remembers her bags were packed and then she had to go back to the baby house and she was mad. She didn't know where she was going, but she was ready to get out of that place.

The Lord had her wait 7 long months. She was sad and abit depressed because she didn't understand what was happening.
She never imagined anybody would come for her, because nobody had before. She remembered crying again and again as children left with new parents. She had no one.

The whole Ukraine trip was one of the most amazing things of our lives. We savored every minute of it. I could not believe the conditions I was seeing. I could not believe so many beautiful children could be in such sad conditions. Their little faces are forever etched into our memories.

So in answer to your question:

The Lord paved the way for us to go and get her. He is the one who made it all possible.
We are all very aware of that, and in awe of it. It never gets old. :)

And we trust that He knows what is best for us, for the rest of our lives. Will our family grow?
If He wills it, we are open. :)

LIFE IS EXCITING!
and that sad, sad little girl, has become a confident happy young lady who is about to turn 12!!!!!
And somehow, this is about as close as I think I will get to the Eifel Tower. :)

Treasures

Some precious new photos have surfaced. One of them I had seen before, but not the other one.
I cropped a few to get more detail. Sarah's fingers on both hands were fused together, and bent down to where she couldn't lift them. The first surgery she ever had, before she came home to us, was on her hands. I remember when our friend Hal Tait, (the guy who provides all the "somebody from the pentagon loves me" shirts) called, I sent him a few pictures of the girls, and he wept with joy that Sarah's hands looked so wonderful. He said, "WOW! She has separated fingers!" Of course, at the time, I didn't know why she had had the surgery. Now I do. :)
These pictures are so precious. Sarah looks just the same, and the one in the back with the ponytails is Erika! :)



Sarah and Erika only spent 11 months together in the orphanage. But it was a bond forged in love and Sarah never forgot Erika for one minute. Erika didn't forget Sarah either!

On March 18 or 9th, we left for Ukraine to bring Erika home. It was a long journey and we KNEW going, that Erika and Sarah belonged together, with Anna.
Here are a couple of pictures of them meeting once again in April, at the Airport in Dallas, after being apart for nearly 2 years.
I remember Sarah saying (in this picture) SHE IS SO BIG! And Erika not understanding what she said, and speaking to Sarah in Russian, and then Sarah saying, "I NEVER talked like that!"
LOL
Anna was ready to start playing, and was VERY happy to have another playmate.

Holiness

Ok, this is titled Holiness, so why the embarrassing picture of all the crud under my fridge?
Well, for some reason Christine's blog post about her fridge combined in my mind about what I am studying ; made perfect sense; probably only to me, who is now broadcasting the filth under my fridge to all of bloggy world, but there is a point to be made. My righteousness is like the crud under my fridge.

I am reading a book right now by J.C. Ryle. J.C. Ryle lived in the 1800's. However, his writings continue to bless us to this day. The book is called "Holiness, It's Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots". I am only on Chapter 2 and already I am drawn in, by the richness of this book.

I was reading about Sanctification this a.m., and as I was reading, about how the Holy Spirit makes us anew, when we have trusted in Christ. We are justified AND sanctified, and the true believer will have light, even if it is a glimmer of light, where before coming into the marvelous light, there was nothing but darkness.

This writer went on to talk of the false teachings that permeate the church. And this was in the 1800's! As I was reading I was drawn in and began to examine my own life, my own heart.... do I feast on the things that are lovely? Do I desire HIM, more and more?
Am I ABIDING in HIM?

Sadly, there are many areas in my life that I know are nothing but filthy. I don't want to be filthy.... I want to be totally sanctified NOW... I don't want to struggle... I don't want to..... yet this is the condition of my soul. God has made me alive in Christ, but has not removed my old nature. My old nature battles each day, with a renewed heart and mind. It battles to take back what it has lost. But Praise the Lord, through Jesus Christ for His infinite, wonderful, loving grace and mercy that he shows me each and every day. His mercies are new every morning and I rejoice in Christ my Savior and my Lord. I know that there is nothing good dwelling in me.
I know that I am only alive in Christ, because he called me out of the miry clay. He desires to mold and shape me. And I have the eternal hope that someday, I will cease to struggle and will be rid of this sinful flesh that weighs upon me, and I will be with HIM.
So why THIS under the fridge picture?
God chooses to see me like this: BECAUSE of Jesus Christ. There is nothing I can do to find favor with God, outside of Jesus Christ. In Christ, I am pure and clean, justified (just as if I'd never sinned) and am being sanctified..... :)

And now, I'll put my fridge back.

I was just horrified by the thought of what is under the stove!

New Skates

A couple of days ago, our neighbor's daughter Haley was cleaning out her things that she no longer wanted. She came over to play, and brought Anna a new pair of skates that were barely used. They fit Anna perfectly and she was so very excited! She has never had roller skates. She has never really asked for them, but after Ice Skating last a couple of weeks ago, she brought up the idea of roller skates.

It is so cool,when the Lord blesses our children with the unexpected. :)
For 2 days now, Anna has had roller blades glued to her feet. I'm surprised she didn't try to sleep with them ..... However, she is doing school with them on. LOL

The other blessing, that made my heart joyful, was that Sarah and Erika were truly joyful that Anna received such a nice gift, even though they didn't. They were all out there laughing and playing and dragging her down the drive way, and on the front porch. I love it when children can be happy for each other.

The other neat thing, was last night Anna showed me the special card she made for Haley to thank her for the skates.

Trying Times

Well, it has happened again. Just when I figured it was safe to post pictures of our baby goat, another life has been snuffed out. This time, it was by the goats own mother. She laid on him last night in the barn and killed him. It was an accident, but heartbreaking non the less.
We found him this a.m. in the barn when he didn't come out with the others for feeding time.

I think I am truly done with goats. We will keep one, who is trained by the girls, and is able to keep the lawn mowed. The others, we are going to phase out.

This has been a hard 6 months for our family, with all the health issues, and deaths of both family members, friends and animals. (not that any animal is even comparable to a family member or a friend)
As I write this, we have 2 more friends who are both dying. One I just found out about last night, and the other is our friend Phil, who is succumbing to a sepsis infection that has been ravaging his body off and on for over a year. We are trusting in our Lord, that He will bring about His perfect will and plan in all of this , and that our hearts will see the wisdom of His plan. But it is hard.

I don't have a picture to post that is specific, but somehow deep down, I find myself comforted by our Lord, that He is truly in control. I am so glad that is true. I could not imagine life without Him in control. So, I will rest.

There are no guarantees in this life. No guarantees of physical comforts or that life will be easy.
But we do have guarantees that the Lord works ALL things out for God for those who are called according to HIS purpose and plan; even the hard things.

I have reason to rejoice and be glad. My arm is getting better and better. I am starting to see more and more range of motion. The girls are happy and healthy. Mike has a JOB, which is something to be VERY thankful for. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings, and we are thankful for each and every member of our family and extended family.

The Lord blessed us with a small happy surprise for a short time, and brought smiles to all of us. He even blessed Sweetie Pie with a baby, when we all thought she was barren. Everything we have is His.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.