May Madness

If I thought I was busy before, that was nothing compared to the whirlwind I find myself in these days!  Family and ministry have me in constant motion - if you count sitting on the couch at 10pm with my laptop trying to accomplish Justice For Orphans stuff - motion!  I've entered some new seasons in our family life between my mom's illness and my daughter's college preparations.  Some seasons are more fun than others.  And Justice For Orphans is in full swing for Foster Care Month and our Love In Action event on May 16th.  

Your Orphan Sunday Team at CAFO's Orphan Summit 10!

 Pastor David Arruda, Teri Froman, me, & Roberta Davis

I had the honor of working with this amazing team at the Orphan Summit in Chicago last week.  We've been connected through social media and email, but I got to meet Roberta, the National Director for Orphan Sunday, and Teri, the Recourse Coordinator for Orphan Sunday for the first time in person at the event.  I've had the privilege of meeting Pastor David at 2 other events previously.  It was also a blessing to travel to the Summit with Mary Slager, Sandy Besenfelder, and Connie Van Kleek.  This was my 3rd Summit, but a very different experience as this time I attended as part of the Orphan Sunday team and as the OS Media Director.  God is so faithful to open doors!

Slava broke his thumb on Easter Sunday!

 There is never a dull moment when you have a large family!  Easter Sunday was an enjoyable day with all of our kids present along with my daughter-in-law's family.  Just after we finished eating and the little boys were outside playing, Slava crashed his bike and broke his thumb and got a mild concussion.  Lesson:  when your older brother goads you into finding out how fast your bike can go - don't take the bait.

Friendly Memories

 Sierra and I made another college visit trip.  This time we toured Gordon College in Mass.  On the way we stopped at a Friendly's restaurant - a popular choice when my kids were little and the restaurants were more prevalent in our area.  We had a nostalgic plate of quesadillas and Sierra made her final decision:  She is Gordon College bound in the fall.  This is a new season I find myself in.  Even though 2 of my other kids have college degrees, neither of them ever went away.  Gordon is only 3 1/2 hours away - but it's still far when it's your first-born baby girl!

The other season I am in is much less fun.  My mom is very ill with a progressive blood disorder.  We are now at the stage where she needs weekly blood and platelet transfusions.  This requires several weekly doctor and hospital visits which I take her to.  Presently I type this by her bedside as they run a unit of blood into her and then platelets.  If all goes well with that then we hope to have a port put in to make the regular treatments less painful.  Her arms are so trashed from the numerous needles used to test blood and transfuse her so frequently.  With Mother's Day around the corner I'm finding it difficult to think about it.  She has declined so much in the past month.  My mom has been an every day part of my life and my family's life.  We have always lived near each other and she has always been there for me.  Now I get the privilege of being there for her.

Proud Grandmas!

 Linda (my daughter-in-law's mom) & I sharing our grand baby!

This little bundle brings our family so much joy.

Babies are truly gifts from God!

LOVE IN ACTION:  Finding Families For NY's Waiting Children

With Summit behind me, now my focus is on our LIA event on Friday, May 16th.  This is the largest event our ministry, Justice For Orphans, has organized so far.  It includes a Pastors' Brunch from 9am-noon and a General Session at 7pm for the general public.  Our keynote speaker for both times is Bishop W.C. Martin, author of Small Town, Big Miracle published by Focus On The Family.  Bishop Martin and his wife began fostering children in the late 90's and since then 78 children have been adopted out of the Texas foster care system and into families in their church and small community of Possum Trot, TX.  The location for the entire event is Our Savior's Lutheran Church 63 Mountain View Ave, Albany, NY  12205.  Visit our website for more details.