sorry

Our computer went bad. We lost the hard drive and we have not been able to blog for a few weeks. We are back now and will start blogging soon. But today we have lots of things going on.

Mark

Life is fragile...handle with care

Last night, I attended a visitation for the 12 year old son of one of my former co-workers. He was killed in an ATV accident last weekend. My heart aches for Theresa and her family. Please include them in your prayers.

And when you're frustrated with child, spouse, parent, pet, co-worker, whoever....

Remember that life can change in an instant and you may find yourself wishing for that spilled milk or temper tantrum or messy house. Will those things really matter if that person is gone?

Take a few moments to give that extra hug, say "I love you" or "I'm sorry" or "You are so special to me." Those are the times that we remember.

Every now and then...

God reminds me.

He speaks softly and gently reminding me of the first time that I saw Matthew (remember my first blog post about him?), how he touched my heart immediately.

He reminds me of the prayers I sent heavenward for that sweet boy, while we were in Ukraine and after we returned home.

He reminds me of the tears that I cried leaving the orphanage with Maia and wishing that I could bring Matthew with us.

He reminds me of the tears I cried in the first few months back home, feeling that I had left a part of my heart in Sevastopol.

He reminds me of the miracles that He worked to bring our son home, that He softened Mark's heart and filled it with willingness to add another child to our family (I was so happy to be sharing that post with you!).

God reminds me that this was His plan since the beginning of time, that He is the creator of families and He most certainly is the reason for our family (Remember this post?).

Then I forget the difficult moments and remember...

And I am humbled at His goodness in allowing me to parent these beautiful children of mine.

Catching Up

I've been meaning to get caught up on what's happening here by back dating some posts, but it's not happening so I'm going to put the past week into this post and be up to date.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Hearts at Home conference here in Rochester. This is a Christian conference for moms. My sweet husband watched the kids so I could go both Friday night and Saturday. The speakers were great and the chance to spend time in fellowship with others was a wonderful blessing. My dear friend Del went with me and it was also a gift to be with her! Thanks to Mark's cousin Janelle for telling me about the conference and allowing me to register as part of her group!

On Tuesday, Matthew had his first dentist appointment. We explained what was going to happen in advance and Matthew practiced opening his mouth. He did wonderful!!! Here he is getting his teeth cleaned. The hygenist said that she had kids twice his age who aren't as cooperative.

The dentist was great with Matthew and gave us good news. No cavities, no bite problems. Matthew's teeth are perfectly spaced to allow for good alignment when his permanent teeth come in. He'll be seen in six months for a routing cleaning and check-up. YAY!! A perfect report!!

Work is keeping me busy. The workload itself has been steady lately and I am precepting a nurse practitioner student. Given that I'm a novice myself, it's a little bit daunting. But hopefully, she will learn a few things while she's working with me.

Yesterday, we attended an Adoption Celebration which is hosted by the agency that we started with when we were planning for a domestic adoption. We were the only family who had completed an international adoption so we were a little out of place, but it was fun to see some other families who have succesfully adopted. Given some of the short wait times they have had, it reinforces that God's plan was for us to bring our kiddos home from Ukraine. His plan is perfect!

Today was a sad day for me. We took Otis back to his previous family. There had been two instances when he became aggressive with me when I was cuddled up with the kids and the second time, he was aggressive with Maia also. Nothing happened, but we don't want to take any chances with the kids being bitten. He had also been very dominant with Vivien and she was miserable. Had lost weight and was pretty much living under the bed. So, we are back to being a one cat family (at least for the time being). :-(

And that catches things up. Oh... I almost forgot to share our funny for the day. I wish that we'd had a video camera at church this morning because Maia provided the entertainment. The kids went up front for the children's sermon. Matthew sat down, but Maia decided that she didn't want to. She started to come back to where we were sitting, then decided that she was going back to the front of the church. She was almost there when she changed her mind and went into one of the pews to visit the people sitting there. Since she was being social, Maia continued to go into several different rows of pews to visit. She came back down the aisle towards us just as Mark was going to get her. When she saw him coming, she ran back up front and climbed the steps to the altar and laid down. Everyone was laughing and she was thrilled with being the center of attention. Gotta love that girl. Poor Mark - his face was pretty red as he carried her back to our spot.

November is Adoption Awareness Month

There is so much in my heart that I would like to share on this topic, but I am running short on time right now. Until I can get that post made, please check out Adeye's blog. She is featuring some amazing adoption stories this month including one of my favorite families - the Pattersons. If you've been following our blog for a while, you may remember me blogging about their daughter Chrissie who is now dancing with Jesus after a courageous battle following heart surgery. Their adoption journey is such a testimony to being faithful to God's calling! Anyway... hope you enjoy reading as much as I am.