Investing In The Kingdom

Well goodbye June and hello July! I can't say that I'm looking forward to July since our calendar is so jam-packed already that there's no room to breath. July 4th we have a wedding to attend, a graduation party, the 11th is Jordan's surgery, Missy turns 21, there's a fund-raiser/garage sale for Sierra's Cambodia trip, Andrii goes to Camp Pinnacle for a week, and there's a baby shower to attend. This only accounts for the weekends. The weekdays are still busy with piano, the Matthew Project, Karate, dentists, doctors, hair appointments, and Cambodia preparations. I've been standing on my head looking at my calendar trying to figure out how we can squeeze a trip to our camp in too. Well at least there are 10 weeks left to summer vacation!

There's been another shocking sighting of Wayne's bizarre behavior. Yes, that's him on the trampoline with Slava and Jordan. Even Andrii and Kashi look a bit perplexed.

This pic is of Sierra at the Hudson River. It was taken by Andrii who I believe has a photography talent he's been hiding.

Of course Sierra likes to take pics of herself and affect them on the computer.

Yes, life is crazy busy, but what else would I be doing? The other day I was observing Sierra, Anna, Jordan, and Slava jumping on the trampoline together. Then I realized that if we hadn't adopted, Sierra would be like an only child at this point. Wayne Jr.'s married and out, Missy is living on her own, Curtis is home but never home with work and college. I suppose we could be living the easy life, but then again this life isn't mine. I surrendered it to Jesus.

The Lord has been speaking to my heart a lot lately regarding orphans. About 7 years ago God used Matthew 25 to really get to me. Matthew 25:14-20 specifically spoke to me about how God gives us talents, gifts, and even finances to invest in His Kingdom...not in the world. Matthew 25:31-46: For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me. And verse 40: And the King will tell them, "I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me."

James 1:27 - Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their trouble, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.

The Word of God is full of Scriptures revealing God's heart for the orphan, the fatherless, the oppressed. I will be sharing more of them in future posts. I've also been doing some research (I'm not even sure why, but the Lord will bring it all together in His perfect time). Here is some of what I've found:

STATISTICS

There are 143-210 million orphans in the world.

In the U.S. there are more than half a million children in foster care (many waiting to be adopted)

Approximately 250,000 children get adopted annually, but...

Each year 14,505,000 children grow up as orphans and age of the system by age 16 (who is willing to adopt teenagers?)

38,493 orphans age out each day

In Russia & Ukraine 10%-15% of these children commit suicide before age 18

60% of the girls become prostitutes

70% of the boys become hardened criminals

Most are unemployed, homeless, and in prison within 3 years

117,000 Ukrainians each year become victims of human trafficking...

Most of the victims are women and children (the greatest at risk are poor, uneducated, & unskilled).

Trafficking groups have liasons in small towns and villages who lure their victims with the idea of a "promising job proposition". I've always suspected that teenage girls who age out of orphanages are prime targets for trafficking.

I haven't even begun to look into Asia, Africa, or Latin America. But I have learned that Ukraine leads in number of human trafficking victims in Eastern Europe.

I've also learned that there are at least 220,000 Christian churches in the United States. So, if one family from each church adopted one orphan (from at home or abroad) that would make a small difference in the statistics, but a huge difference in the life of one of the least of these. But, if one family adopted a sibling group (like we did) that would have a huge impact on the numbers. And if more than one family from each church adopted....well you get the point. How can we as Christians allow the innocent to live under oppression while we live here in the land of the free and the home of the brave?

An estimated 65,500 adopted children in the US are living with a lesbian or gay parent

An estimated 2 million gay/lesbian people are interested in adopting.

Why aren't Christians adopting and raising kids for the Lord???

In the US there are more than 1 million induced abortions performed each year. We as Christians want to see abortion stopped, but what are we prepared to do with the 1 million babies each year who will flow into the foster care system?

I believe that each Christian family must pray and seek God's will for their lives. Ask Him if it is His will that they adopt an orphan (or 4). And if these families walk in obedience to the answer they get...then there would be a whole lot less orphans in the world and a whole lot more kids growing up in Christian homes.

Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me." Mark 9:37a.

Thank you for listening, but stay tuned. I'm not finished yet!

Father's Day Weekend

We spent Father's Day weekend up at our camp in the Adirondacks. The kids were so excited to be back up at camp and it was Slava's first time. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive. Slava kept saying, "Come on, Mom. Camp." I think it's the longest he'd ever ridden in the car and he couldn't understand why it was taking so long. Once we got there he kept saying,"Slava house, Slava camp. Why Slava camp?" Once he got settled in though, he loved it.

Surprise, Surprise!

This pic was taken at home not at camp. Surprise #1: Wayne is wearing shorts. Those legs never see the light of day! Surprise #2: Wayne is swinging with Jordan...I've never seen him on the swings before!

Anna & Slava on the tube.

"Slava swimming!" was Slava's proclamation all weekend! With the life-jacket on he had no fear about jumping into the lake.

Andrii on the jet ski!

He thought he was pretty cool driving the jet ski by himself this year!

Sierra & Anna on the tube, Andrii speeding by on the jet ski.

One handsome guy!

I was so pleased that Curtis joined us too. Wayne & Kerri went to the Cape for their anniversary and Missy had to work, so Curtis was the only "big-kid" with us. On Saturday night he took Sierra, Andrii, Anna, and Jordan to see "Mr. Popper's Penguins" at the theater in Old Forge. We all had a great family time. Camp is Wayne's favorite place to be so it was very fitting to be there for Father's Day.

Let Summer Begin!

We are officially done with school! Hmmm...what will I do with all of this time on my hands? Actually I'm working on setting some summer goals for myself, the kids, the house, etc. because 10 weeks will fly by, and we cannot afford to waste the time. At convention I picked up a family-homeschool-planner "the Well Planned Day" which I can't wait to dive into. I like to be organized. My homeschool is pretty organized, my home maybe not so much. But a homeschooling family requires a certain amount of organization or else one feels as if they're drowning in the daily onslaught of life. The planner is designed by the same family who publishes the magazine "Home Educating Family" which I just subscribed to. I brought home 2 issues of the magazine from convention also, and I've been devouring them. If you homeschool, I highly recommend this new magazine.

Jordan & Slava riding in the Gator.

My prayer is that these brothers will become buddies. Jordan still has a low tolerance for Slava and just prefers bossing him around instead of actually playing with him. Slava likes to swat at his bossy brother which sends Jordan tattling and lands Slava in timeout. It's only 9am and Slava has already been in time-out twice. Slava has the upper body strength of a mosquito, so the swats don't pack much punch, but still he must learn that hitting is unacceptable.

Slava - Looking Good!

Slava is healing nicely from eye-muscle surgery. His eyes are looking straight and the red is clearing up. Next month he will see his doctor again and probably have his eye glasses changed.

Sierra, Andrii & Anna all participated in the Karate For Christ promotion test. They should know in a week or 2 if they are promoted.

Sierra in the center.

Andrii in mid kick. Sensei Calvin wouldn't let up on him.

He had Andrii fight until he put his heart into it.

Anna posing for the camera.

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary to our son Wayne Jr. and his precious bride Kerri. They are spending a long weekend in Cape Cod to celebrate.

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"I Love God!"

Curtis graduated from Hudson Valley Comm. College with an Associates degree in Construction Management. He's decided to pursue his Bachelor's degree maybe at Alfred State or SUNY Utica. In the meantime he's working full time in the family construction business and part time in the family sand pile! I am just so blessed when he hops out of his work truck and into the sand box with the kids.

Curtis & Jordan

Sierra, Andrii, Wayne, and I enjoyed our time at the home school convention in Rochester. Wayne Jr. & Kerri were none the worse for wear after holding down the fort while we were gone. They moved in Thursday night and stayed with Anna, Jordan, and Slava while we were gone. It was a huge blessing to me to be able to go. We're entering our 11th year of home educating our kids and haven't missed a convention yet.

Sunday afternoon our home was the site of our church youth group's end of year picnic. The youth leaders were in charge, so all we had to do was fellowship with the youth. We have a great bunch of youth and it was a blessing to spend time with them. They kept busy playing volley ball, swimming, jumping on the trampoline, warming up by the fire, toasting marshmallows, and hiding from the mosquitoes!
Here Wayne Jr. leads the group in a few worship songs while Anna (not old enough for youth group) gets a front row seat to the festivities.

Slava. There is always so much to say about this boy. The other night I was reading his Bible to him at bedtime when I had to run out to the kitchen to take something out of the oven. When I returned to his room I found him still looking at his Bible and proclaiming out loud, "I love God. I love God." I was so blessed to witness it and can only imagine how blessed God was to witness it also. Sunday in church I brought him to the altar for prayer since he is having eye muscle surgery on both eyes on Thursday 6/9 at 10:30am. When I asked him if he wanted to go up for prayer he ran to the altar! He didn't want me to hold him. He wanted to stand on the altar, and he proclaimed, "I love God," again. Pastor Stan came over and explained to Slava that he was going to anoint him with oil on his head and pray for him. Slava smiled, nodded, and said, "Yeah, I know." Then he closed his eyes and folded his hands and prayed.
And he has discovered the swimming pool! As busy as he is, Slava has been pretty cautious by the water. We keep a life jacket on him, but he'd only been brave enough to put his feet in. Today though with it being in the 90s I actually ventured out to the pool and into the water. By the end of the day he was jumping off the side and into my arms. He did this about 100x, but he'd only jump to me. When I finally got out he was willing to jump to Andrii. I'm sure he'll be swimming like a fish very soon.

Please keep Slava in your prayers as he goes to surgery. Pray that all goes smoothly. Jordan had this same surgery 3 years ago, so we know what to expect. It is a 2 1/2 hour surgery, but we'll be home the same day.

I love God too!

Memorial Day Weekend - Part 1

We had such a busy week end that I had to break it up into 2 posts. Please be sure to scroll down to read part 2.

Saturday we celebrated the marriage of Elias & Holly Anderson. Elias is the son of our dear friends and neighbors, Lauri & Dennis. The bride & groom just graduated from Liberty University in Virginia. The ceremony was at the scenic Catskill Point on the Hudson River. The reception was at Anthony's in Catskill where we all had a great time. The couple is presently honeymooning in the Dominican Republic. Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Elias Anderson!

Wayne Jr. & Kerri at the reception.

They are about to celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary!

Wayne & Missy dancing!

What a lovely father/daughter picture!

Bethany & Curtis

Both just graduated from HVCC!

Sierra, Andrii, Wayne, and I are getting ready to leave for Rochester today for the annual LEAH Home School Conference. I am so blessed to be able to go. For a while it didn't seem likely because of Mr. Slava, but my precious son and daughter-in-law are moving in for the 2 nights we will be gone. They will be watching Anna, Jordan, and Slava. I have peace leaving Slava even though it will be the first time we've ever been gone from him over night. He has bonded with Wayne & Kerri and absolutely loves "Kerri-Kerri" so I know he will be fine.

Be sure to scroll down and read Part 2 and see what a "bang-up" time Slava had this past weekend...

Memorial Day Weekend - Part 2

We had a wonderful weekend with many "firsts" for Slava. His first "first" was driving Papa's golf cart...into Papa's new truck! I'm not sure who needed a time-out more, Slava or Wayne. After all, Papa had him outside in the garage when he decided to drive up the road in the street rod telling Slava to go into the house. Instead of going into the house Slava got into the golf cart where much to his pleasure the keys were in the ignition. He hit reverse and slammed into the truck, then went forward and bumped into the lawn mower. I was just opening the door to deliver a message to Wayne when I heard the big bang. Aside from a bump on the leg Slava didn't get hurt...thank you, LORD. As Wayne pulled back into the driveway and saw the damage (the dent in the truck and a bent golf cart frame) he got back into the street rod and drove up the road again. I guess he was putting himself in time-out! Slava is so busy, so fast, and so smart that it's virtually impossible for us to keep up with him every second, and it only takes a second for him to get into trouble!

The dent in Papa's new truck.

We opened the pool this weekend too. We've had an in-ground pool for 17 years with a fence all the way around it with a gate that locks. However, because of swift, savvy, Slava, we just purchased a pool alarm. If he were to figure out a way over the fence and into the water a very loud alarm will sound outside and in the house. Daily I pray for his safety and for the diligence to watch over him; I've even asked the Lord to assign him an angel (we need all the help we can get)! I know the Lord was watching over him in the golf cart episode because he really could have been hurt, but he walked away with only a bump on the leg.

Anna (on left with flag), Slava, Jordan, & Sierra (with hat).

Another "first" for Slava was his first Memorial Day parade. We went to Albany early Monday morning to watch the parade. Missy and Andrii marched with the Jubilee Fife & Drum Corps.

Andrii on the bass drum.

Slava also enjoyed his very first trip to the drive-ins. Wayne & I took Sierra, Andrii, Anna, Jordan, and Slava. We joined up with several families from our church to watch Kung-fu Panda 2. Slava had fun wandering around with our crowd before the movie. When the movie started I put him on my lap in the front seat and placed a big bucket of pop corn in front of him. Of course he had no interest in the movie, but he had a grand ole time popping pop corn into his mouth with one hand and throwing some out the window with the other hand. This kept him busy for quite some time. About a half hour into the movie he fell asleep on my lap where he remained until we arrived home and Papa put him into bed.

Jordan

Heavy duty excavation going on in our sand pile!

Anna

A Very Full Week - Full of Blessings!

This is the first I've sat at the computer in 3 days. We've had a very busy week to say the least. Last Monday, after our Bible lesson, we headed off to the mall to spend a rainy day shopping for some much needed summer clothes and bathing suits. Tuesday was a family birthday party and Bible study. Wednesday was my birthday and my eldest son pulled the troops together. They blessed me by delivering pizza for dinner and going in on a gift certificate to have family portraits taken. I had a dentist appointment on Thursday which ruled out a dental issue and ruled in the allergy/sinus infection as the cause of my discomfort. Thursday through Friday was a whirlwind of activity as we had our last home school co-op meeting Friday morning and the closing program/art contest Friday evening. Actually, Friday morning at 6am Slava strolled into my room with a 102 degree fever. I gave him some liquid medicine and some water and cuddled him in my bed where he proceeded to throw up the medicine and water all over my sheets! Poor little guy. The medicine did not sit well on his empty stomach. He declared, "Slava all the time sick. No good." Thankfully my precious neighbor, Bethany, was able to come and stay with him while we all went to co-op. This was an answer to prayer since I didn't know what I was going to do with a sick Slava and a day full of things I had to do. Our last day of classes flew by with the added activity of a local fire company bringing a fire truck by for a short fire safety lesson.

That's Sierra all suited up as a fireman shooting off the hose. Andrii is far left with the plaid shirt and Jordan is in the middle with the striped shirt.
Here are some of our kids with the firemen on the right. "Thank You" Coxsackie Hose Company #3!

We were back at the church at 5pm to set up for our closing program and art show. Sierra and Andrii both submitted photos for the contest; He won 3rd place and she got honorable mention. In another post I'll try to put up their photos. The top 5 winning pieces will be sent to Rochester to be displayed at our annual home school convention and they will be judged by the art department from Roberts Wesleyan College.

Sierra and Andrii had also planned a bonfire for a bunch of their friends from youth group. About 50 kids showed up at our house on Saturday night! All went well though because the kids were kept busy playing football, basketball, man hunt, jumping on the trampoline, toasting marshmellows etc.
Victoria kept Slava busy...or should I say Slava kept Victoria busy the whole time!
Quite a few of the kids played touch football, including that big kid in the middle with the black t-shirt on. My husband couldn't resist getting into the game.

The Lord has been good to me all week bringing me through all the craziness. I've been especially blessed by Slava's growth. It has been 6 months since we first brought this busy little guy home, and he's made such progress. Just the other day I heard him "singing" in my room while rocking to some worship music. His favorite song lately is Kim Walker's version of "How He Loves Us". I peeked in on him and not only was he rocking and singing, but he also had his hand raised in the air. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Slava church." Then he stopped, folded his hands, closed his eyes, and prayed for a moment, and then continued rocking with his hand raised. Also the only book he wants me to read to him at night is his story Bible. And he really only wants the stories with Jesus in them. He's especially interested in Jesus ascending up into heaven...he keeps asking "adika Jesus?" "Where's Jesus?" I keep telling him Jesus is in heaven but he's coming back. So now when we're worshiping in church he asks me if Jesus is coming...of course I tell him YES! I believe I'm seeing the fruit of all the praying I've done over Slava as he's going to sleep at night. And of course all the praying others have been doing as well these past months. God is faithful. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be the glory...Ephesians 3:20-21