You know You Live In The Country When....

You know you live in the Country when your daughter sees the price of a new skirt and says,"Gee mom! You could buy a goat for that!" :)

The 2 Year Countdown!!!!!

Today is April the 16. Two years ago today, at this time, Mike and I were sitting with Erika at the American Medical Center to get a physical for Erika. Tomorrow, we would have gone to the Embassy to file for her Visa, pick it up that afternoon, and then Fly home on the 19.

We arrived home on April the 20th, 2006 at around Midnight or so. We were delirious from flight, and staying awake for endless hours, but so excited to see the girls again.

My heart swells when I think about that moment. That moment our lives were forever changed once again. That moment when Erika stepped onto American soil and became an AMERICAN CITIZEN! I remember thinking, "She is so little and has NO IDEA what an important step that was off of the plane. She has no idea how the Lord moved on her behalf through incredible circumstances and fervent prayers to bring just one little girl to her new home. She has no idea what awaits her!"

She looked so small, so frail.. so scared, and yet there was a braveness in her that showed she was strong. She walked into the "unknown" world, never to look back.

I remember on the way to the airport she asked the translator "How long will it take me to learn English?"
"When will I see a doctor?" With that question, her eyes were filled with fear. :(

Just a little over 4 weeks before, she met us for the first time. She had been waiting; according to her, 50 years! She knew we were coming, but didn't know when.
She had become sad and depressed, as it took so long. One family on one side of the world, and one little girl on the other side, both longing to be together. Had it been up to us, it would have happened much sooner, but it wasn't up to us. Even though it seemed to take forever, mountains were moved to get her here.

Just 1 week before we boarded the plane, we were able to pick her up from the orphanage and take her with us forever.
She could barely walk, but she nearly RAN out of that orphanage. She was so excited.
We taught her to say, "Let's Blow this Joint!" She bellowed it with gusto! :)

So, she was thrust into a world she had never known. She had never seen the cathedrals in Ukraine, the beauty, the monuments. She had never seen an airplane or a train. She had never tasted spices on food. She had her first tortilla chip in Kiev at TGI Fridays. She ate EVERY jalepeno on the plate! (a girl after my own heart!)

TGI Friday's Picture


She had never heard of McDonalds and when we took her there, she wasn't amuzed. She told the translator we ate at a cafeteria.

Erika's first french fry! :)



Here we are on the train.


After 1 week of being FREE from that orphanage, she was in America.

Oh my the interesting things! Toilets that flush on their own, water that comes on by putting your hand under it, never ending paper towels that just "show up" after you get one. And that was all at the Atlanta Airport!!!!

Upon coming home, besides all the excitement of sisters and brothers, there was the dishwasher, the washing machine, dryer, our own car?????!!!!!!, DVD player, locks on doors, refrigerator! "A MAMA CAN COOK???" WOW!
The newness was endless.

I waited 2 weeks before taking her to the store. I didn't want to overwhelm her. She asked for "chips", so I figured it was time to show her SUPER WALMART....
We walked in and inside I was laughing because I KNEW those eyes were going to have that funny look of surprise and awe!

(Can you really have surprise and awe at Walmart? If you are a Ukrainian orphan you can)

I walked this awe struck child to the "Chip aisle". That isle where there is every type of chip in the world. :) Mind you, she had asked for Chips in Ukraine and they had limited kinds; mushroom flavor, tomato flavor or nothing. :) She actually ate mushroom flavored chips!
There went that look of awe and surprise at the chips and this little girl burst into quiet giggles of glee. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Many people think when adopting an older child that you miss out on all those firsts.
To that I say, the firsts are different. I really don't mind missing potty training, but there is no first like a kid who has never seen anything remotely modern and is suddenly thrust into the modern world.
It is both sad and hilarious. Can those go in the same sentence? Only in the world of International adoption.

So, our remembrance begins. The remembrance of a sad little girl who was all alone in this world. The remembrance of a GOD, who looked down and had compassion for and loved that little girl with an everlasting love. The remembrance of God's providence in our lives. The remembrance of "leaving the old and cleaving to the new".
The observance of "adoption" and the REAL AWARENESS AND DEEP UNDERSTANDING that we are ALL adopted. We are ALL rescued, we are dead to our old life and alive in Christ and we walk in that Newness of Life.

And we are cherished and loved.

Here are a few pics from Ukraine:

Rest Time for Mommy

Our little Sarah is going through such a sweet stage. She is just appreciating her family and has expressed how much she just loves having a mommy and a daddy.
She's played baby a little bit lately, so I know she needs the rocking time and cuddle time and I enjoy the snuggles with her.

She told me, "mommy, you just rest ok? We'll take care of the kitchen for you!"

I thought, "How sweet!" So I rested. I kept hearing "questionable" noises coming from the kitchen, but I was in that "twilight zone" between awake and asleep and just layed there paralyzed on the couch. :)

When the girls had finished the kitchen, they came and woke me up. It was time to get dinner started and I needed to get movin'!

I went to the pantry and they were so excited they were all bursting with giggles and glee! They had such a surprise for mommy!

THEY REORGANIZED THE ENTIRE PANTRY!

Now, this would have been wonderful, if they had used their newly acquired alphabetizing skills! OR... the lessons we learned about food groups, or ANYTHING remotely close to that....

No... it was all topsy turvey. I was trying to cook dinner and it felt like I was in somebody else's kitchen who had severe ADHD...:)

I started thinking, "If I were very short, where would I put the dried bell peppers!
Yep, there they were next the cereal, nuts and jello on the bottom shelf!
If I were very short, where would I put the olive oil? Yep, bottom shelf too! :)

I smiled at them, and thanked them for being so nice and trying to help. I didn't have the heart to tell them, it wasn't a help.

So, after they go to bed, I'll re arrange things and get it back to semi normal organized.

But, I'm so thankful for their hearts. They really wanted to do something sweet and nice for me, and that is really what counts.

Those proud happy little faces were worth a messed up pantry.

NOW... NEXT TIME they want me to take a nap, I'll suggest sorting laundry. :) They KNOW how to do that. :)

Real Applied Science

Lesson 1....

Why did we save all that poop?

Lesson 2....

What is the real reason for a hoe and rake?

Lesson 3....

Mud boots are not just for looks, they do have a purpose

Lesson 4....

Rotten Eggs do stink after they explode....


Lesson 5.... Goats are very curious creatures.

Moments In Time Designed By God

I had a few minutes alone yesterday between going to the Dr. for a physical and coming home. Many times, when I am alone, that is when I have a chance to think and reflect and worship and sing, and then I am home.:)

I began to think about all the women I know who are unable to have children, or have been caused to be unable to have children due to illness. I was also thinking about the blessings of the Lord in our lives.

I was told I couldn't have children. That is a laugh. 4 boys later, the doctor was scratching his head with wonder. I'm not kidding. He couldn't beleive it.

Now, as a Gramma, there are new blessings coming along, and my mind went back to a time when Our oldest son Chucky was 2.
In order to wash his hair I used "Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific!". I'd tell him, your hair will smell like flowers! So he'd be willing to get that hair washed. And he had LOADS of long blonde hair.

One day, we were going to have lunch with my mother in law at her medical building.
She worked for that doctor that said she wouldn't be a gramma, by us anyway. :)

Chucky had just had that head of hair washed and we went into the medical building to see his Gramma. Well, he saw this lady sitting on a bench. She was probably my age now. He ran up to her and jumped in her lap and said, "Gramma! Gramma! Then, very seriously, "Smell my hair it smells like flowers!". This shocked woman smelled his hair and said, "It smells very nice!" He still didn't know it wasn't her and continued to sit on her lap, as we waited for his gramma to come down stairs. This woman started to cry a little. You see, her daughter was in the next room having final tests for ovarian cancer, and this woman was sitting there thinking about her loss.
Her personal loss of not being a gramma, and her daughter's loss of not being a mom.
She was praying that the Lord would let her know the experience of being a gramma.
And then....
There came Chucky. All chunky toddler that he was plopping himself in her lap and being so natural with her.
She said, the Lord had answered her prayer.
That was 27 years ago.
I have thought about that lady and her daughter over the years. Did her daughter become a mom, either by birth or adoption? Did she become a gramma? The story was not over, but this woman was touched that the Lord saw fit to give her that oh so personal experience at her time of need.

Isn't that just how God is? He is so very concerned with the personal, with the little, with the detail. Sometimes we see the problem and not the end result.
Most of the time we see the problem and not the end result. Then, when that end result comes, we see the Wisdom of God, and we worship.

PROGRESS

Wow, I have sorted through all the books and made 25dollars on PRE SALE!

We are having a yard sale on Friday and Saturday. Spring Cleaning can mean $$.

I am going to Paint sometime in the next few weeks before Papa Dima comes to visit.
Our guest room has been needing a paint job since we moved here over 5 years ago.

PRESSING ON! :)

The Time Has Come

It is time to start weaning from stuff. I have been collecting books for years. They are great books, but one could not possibly read all these books again. My fingers are being pried from them, as the possibility in the future of going to Ukraine comes 1 day sooner every day.
I started thinking.... "If there were a fire, what would I want to save?" Of course my bible... Then after that? The Complete Works of Johathan Edwards. After that? The complete works of John Bunyan. After that? The sermons of Martin Luther.

I started thinking... All these men's lives were changed by Jesus Christ and they studied.... The Scripture. :) I have what I need.

Then, there are the reference books. The ones about the Amish, about Islam, about Israel, about The Charismatic Movement, about Child Rearing, about Adoption, about Raising hurt children.

Then, there are the LOADS of kids books, that we will keep for a while, as we still have kids.

Then, there are the movies we have collected again over the years from that 5 dollar bin at walmart.

Then, there are the excesses collected over the years from garage sales.
The baskets,
The glasses
The storage jars

I'm exhausted and I haven't even started.

I WILL DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS! THE LORD WILL HELP ME DO THIS!

I need a nap. :)

When Green Meets Walmart

I HATE plastic bags! They are a waste and I always see them blowing across the freeway ready to get trapped under my vehicle and wreak havoc, getting twisted around something and causing damage. One of our customers had to fix his vehicle after a bag got twisted around his inside wheel and caused fluid loss! The seal had to be replaced.

So, I'm a green girl. I like to bring my cloth bags to the store, but sometimes I still forget.

Yesterday was one of those times. I noticed however that Walmart is selling cute little bags that say, "Paper or Plastic, Neither" on them; for 1.00.

I can always use another bag, so I took 2.(thinking this would solve my "forgetting the bag problem")

So, we put our stuff on the conveyor belt and the register locks up. I have to put all the stuff back into the cart and move to another check out stand, and wait again. By now, I'm a bit frustrated waiting so long, as the person in front of me left a bag and the checker ran out of the store to catch her. By now, I have sent the girls over to sit down on the bench as Erika's legs were getting tired.

So, the checker comes back and apologizes. He continues to check my things and before I know it, I see him putting them in those awful plastic bags.

The funny part is: He checked my "cloth grocery bags", and proceeded to put them in a plastic bag! By now, my frustration had turned to humorous amuzment.
Of course I smiled and said, "Have a nice Day", and went on my way home, contributing to the floating plastic bag problem once again.

I'll prevail next time. :)

Amazing Books

I need to get past my toilet problems, as I am tired of staring at that glaring picture. (it looks the same in real life)

I wanted to write about 2 books that I read this week.

I have always had a deep admiration for the Amish communities in our country and the Anabaptist Heritage. Our own church has Anabaptist roots.

The Anabaptist's split into 3 main groups... The Amish, The Mennonites and the Brethren. Our church is "loosely" affiliated with Brethren; but seems more like a
regular bible church; except for women who cover their heads and our church government.

The Books I read this week had to do the with the Nickel Mine's Massacre of the Amish School Girls in Lancaster County. It was a terrible tragedy, but the books brought to light a different side of that tragedy.

The first book "The Happening", by Harvey Yoder; was a true glimplse into the personal effects of the tragedy on each family and the general community, and how the families felt about the intruding public into thier lives.

The second book was called, "Amish Grace". Its focus was on the forgiveness offered after the tragedy and how the community pulled together after unsepakable suffering.
This book was a fascinating study into what forgiveness looks like and what it is.
It is also a look into the struggle to forgive and what the Amish see as true forgiveness.

If you have an opportunity to read either of these books, I'd recommend them, especially the second one.

There were many challenges and questions and explanations into the deep issues presented in Matthew 18 and Matthew 5.

How About Toilet Trouble!

Oh my, what a beginning to a week! I noticed last week that the bathroom floor seemed like it was sort of wet. I thought the 5 girls had been sloppy, dried it and went on.
Then on Saturday, I noticed the wood laminate flooring in the bathroom starting to buckle. There was a leak under the toilet, seeping along under the floor.

So, it looks like we will be "remodeling" a bathroom. If you have to change the floor, you may as well paint right? And fix a few other things too. :)

We had agreed to no jobs being done until the siding was finished, but this one seems that it will have to trump the siding for now.

Here is a lovely picture of the floor buckling.


The hole in the floor actually reminds me of some of the "toilets" we saw in Ukraine.

Camera Troubles

For the past few months, I have been having a battle with my camera. It seems to get stuck out of focus even on automatic and manual and it takes a zillion tries to get a focused decent picture. Isn't that a tortuous picture to look at? That is how many of our photos are turning out, and then all of a sudden, we have 1 good one. But guess what! Our friends from Church are getting a new camera, and when they do, they said we could take over their older one. Horray!

God really does provide. We take photos for many different reasons. For out of state family and for others. I send pictures to Ukraine every year, and sometimes mid year to the Embassy. (This helps keep open relations in the adoption world)

Many times, the only thing the EE gov'ts. hear about is when there is a problem, like the recent arrest of 2 parents in the death of their newly adopted 14 month old and severe malnourishment of their 2 year old. The baby died of blunt force trauma to the head. He had only been home 2 weeks. The 2 year old had been home for 3 months and was on a feeding tube to help him. The verdict is not yet out on what exactly happened, but it doesn't matter to foreign govt's. They want to make sure ALL of their children are safe, even if they haven't taken the best care of them either. So if we can assure them that our 2 are safe, I think it goes a long way in positive relations.

If you are reading this, and your are an adoptive parent, take time to get natural, play time pictures of your children, with you, in your home, in the back yard, with your spouse and with other family and send them to the embassys of your children's country. You would be surprised how much it helps, just by being a good Unoffical Ambassador. :)

We did this rather innocently with Sarah for nearly a year, every month, emailing pictures to the embassy. We did not know it, but every picture was forwarded to the judge who handled her failed adoption. He was very pleased, so when we went to get Erika, he had already seen our pictures and read our letters and was really very friendly. He even asked us why we were so serious. (we were told not to smile) He smiled for everybody.:)

I will pray that the Lord Uses this new camera to do His work, in opening the hearts of those who have power over the lives of Orphans in Ukraine and other places in Eastern Europe, opening the doors so more children can find forever families that they so desperately need.

HE IS RISEN! INDEED!

Our Last Night Together

Well, tonight is our last night together. We really did have a fun week. I'm glad the girls could come and that we could spend some time with them.

So here are some of the last pictures of the day, of Katie and Lillian, my precious grand daughters. A gramma could not be prouder.

The Grave Could NOT Hold Him

We went to the Verkler's house for Easter Brunch this morning and they had made a centerpiece for their table. The tomb, with a STONE! Tomorrow, that STONE will be ROLLED away! Jesus is RISEN! It was a great picture of what the LORD has done for us.
That HE is NO LONGER in the grave but HE LIVES!

I was excited about seeing it, so I made one for the girls. They are excited about checking in the morning to make sure the stone is rolled away, and it is a BIG stone!
But nothing was too big for OUR GOD!

I also saw a you tube video that presents a very great gospel message. It is one of my favorite worship songs called "IN CHRIST ALONE".

You can find it on my side bar under YOUTUBE VIDEOS. "In Christ Alone"

HAPPY EASTER!

Easter Week Reflections

It has been a flurry of activity around here and I have an hour right now to slow down abit before we go off to the Verkler's for an Easter Brunch.

I hae been ever aware of my sin this week, as I am being challenged with 2 extra girls thrown into the mix. I have been called Gramma, Mommy, Mother, Grandmother, Mom, Momma in mixed up order.
Sometimes the grandgirls have called me Mommy and the girlies have called me gramma! :/

I have had tired moments and grouchy moments and moments of joy, seeing each little bundle of joy fast asleep, and moments of COFFEE! NOW! When I hear them stir in the morning.

It is funny how we can get in a smoothe routine and everything is fine, and then, that routine is broken into and our schedule different , and then everything seems "out of sorts". Our seemingly calm existence is turned on its head, and I am once again on my knees repenting for my selfish heart. That selfish heart that wants things a little quieter, neater, did I say quieter?

And the Lord speaks to my heart and lets me know....

I'm depending a little too much on myslef, and not enough on Him. His grace is sufficient for me, but I have to open up and stop doing things on my own.

I realized how much I depend upon a "well oiled ship" for things to run, and sometimes that Oil is organization or schedule instead of the oil of the Spirit in our lives.

Oh my, our sin nature is ever present, just under the surface, ready to pop out its ugly head. "Don't do that!" "No Whining!" "Did you get in the Mud AGAIN?" "Please go to sleep!" "Yes, we carry in wood, if we want to be warm! Do you want to be warm?"

Isn't that gracious? NOT....

I am so glad this week happened. I loved visiting my grand girlies, but I also know that the instruction of the Lord, chastising me for my attitude shows that HE ever loves me. The Lord Chastens those whom he loves, so I am grateful for that too.

It is with sorrow and tears that I write, confessing that I need more time with my Lord. I am thankful that I can run to him, and he lets me whine, and bring in my mud, and prefers me to be awake so we can commune, and he warms my heart. He cleanses me and then again, works to conform me to His Image.

I am Oh so far from that.
I long to be Like Christ. I long to reflect his image.

I cannot do it on my own.

Many times we hear that the Lord sends Children for us to teach; but in His master plan, He also gives us those children to teach us.

Ok, back to normal

A big thanks to Melissa for helping me find the little trash can. :)

We are back to normal. No moderation or word thingy. :)

Comments Monitor On now

I love it when you comment, but on our zoo post, I got some wierd spam thing that froze my computer and said it was "scanning" for viruses. Of course it was supposedly scanning for a PC, and I have a mac. duh

So, I am now going to moderate comments. I didn't want to, but if something gets posted, it can't be deleted, so I guess it is safer that way.

So if your comment doesn't show up right away, you'll know why. I'll try to get it up as quickly as possible. :)

The Zoo Trip

We started our morning early, and left the house by 8:30 a.m. so we could catch the train to the Zoo. We had a long walk from the parking lot to the train, then when we got to the zoo, I had never been so thankful that we have a zoo membership! The lines were unbelievable. It seems after all that rain, everybody had the same idea!

We spent more time in a new part of the zoo that we usually don't go to because it is so hilly, and the wheel chair on hills, well, is hard for this old body to manage.
BUT.... early! We did it. I'm not so sure at this typing it was such a great idea, BUT... I'm not complaining. We had a great time. :)

Of Knights and Fair Maidens

Today we had lunch with our Friend Julie and her son Daniel. They are studying Medieval times, so we had a Medieval lunch. Julie worked very hard on the menu which included 2 kinds of bean soups, spices that were of the day, a salad and cake. (from today) :)

The kids had a great time making hats and doing some fun art work.
Thanks Julie and Daniel for a great time.

This Puts New Meaning To the Words

Would you PLEASE keep your feet off of the COUCH!