And Another Month Flies By...

It amazes me how the days turn into weeks! I really wanted to update this blog weekly, but before I know it 3 weeks have past since my last post. The busy-ness is all part of having my "cup runneth over" full house of blessings. So this is what's been going on:

Nurse Colleen, Dr. Jordan, and "Art-Art" the patient.

Jordan had another rod lengthening surgery on January 10th. This picture was taken in pre-op with one of his favorite nursers. We've had very good experiences at Albany Med. We always joke that we're "frequent fliers." Everyone loves Jordan and he's pretty famous in pre-op, the OR, post-op, and up on the pediatric floor (especially at the nurse's station)! Surgery went well. Dr. Carl lengthened his rods a whole 10mm which is a lot actually. Jordan complained more about the pain this time, and I was more concerned about the look of the incision as he healed, but he's back to normal now. We just had an awesome visit to Dr. Carl's office where everyone is requesting that Jordan be made the office mascot! We go back for x-rays in May and the next surgery will most likely be in July.

Ukrainian Princess Anna

Our Missionettes had a fashion show where they got to dress up in time period clothing or a costume of their choice. Anna really wanted to be a bride, but I had no idea where I was going to find a bridal gown. We settled on a bride's maid type gown, then my friend, Kelli, showed up with a whole bunch of dresses...including her wedding gown. Anna was thrilled to her toes! This pic isn't the greatest, but she did look beautiful.

Sierra getting ready to walk the red carpet.

Sierra managed to pull off wearing 2 outfits, including this gown (also from Kelli) and a top hat and cane she borrowed from Curtis.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

February 4th was my mom's birthday. We had my parents, my brother & sister-in-law, and all the kids over for dinner. I cannot mention her age since she frequents this blog!

Our days have been filled with doctors, dentists, school, archery, and church activities. Curtis, Sierra, and Andrii spent last weekend away at a youth retreat. Tomorrow we're all looking forward to a fun time at my nephew's wedding.

In my free time...which usually doesn't happen until 9pm or so, I've been doing a lot of reading. Over the summer the Lord put it on my heart to search the Scriptures on the topic of orphans, which brought my attention to the word "oppressed." Then my pastor's wife lent me the book Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren which launched me into researching human trafficking and forced prostitution. I'm not sure why, but I'm compelled to read. I know in my heart that trafficking and orphans are linked. It is the poor, vulnerable girls who are preyed upon by traffickers whether they be in Asia or Eastern Europe, or even right here in the U.S. Ukraine is a place near and dear to my heart, and it just so happens that most of the girls trafficked in Eastern Europe are from Ukraine. I can just picture traffickers hanging around the villages outside of the orphanages, just waiting for the teenage girls who "age out" of the orphanage. Girls with barely any education, no money, no job, no family...prime targets for sure. I'm having a difficult time finding out whether anyone in Ukraine, any Christian ministry, is reaching out to the at risk girls, the girls in orphanages, to educate them and warn them of this potential snare. Who is training them to earn a living in a safe, healthy way? Who is teaching them skills? Who is ministering to the girls who actually make it out of the nightmare? I have friends in Cambodia doing exactly this stuff with girls at risk there. I've always known about trafficking, but now I'm seeing clearly, like God has brought it into focus. I'm not sure yet exactly what I'm supposed to be doing about it. For now I'm praying, researching, and waiting for the Lord to show me the next step. My heart is still on orphans and adoption, and it probably always will be. My mother-in-law just lent me the book Choosing To See by Mary Beth Chapman. She and her husband, Steven Curtis Chapman, adopted 3 girls from China, the youngest of whom tragically died in an accident. I sobbed through the book, and even starting searching Chinese adopting online. At this moment I'm not feeling the call to actually adopt, but of course I never say never...my mission is to always say yes to God. And right now He's got me wrecked for the oppressed. I would however, really like to see others adopting. Every Christian family needs to adopt older girls from Asia or Eastern Europe. We became members of Christian Alliance For Orphans. They put on an Orphan Summit each year to promote adoption awareness and to help churches to advocate for orphans and adoption. It seems almost impossible for me to go, but I'm praying about it. It's May 3rd-5th in Southern California at Saddleback Church (Rick & Kay Warren's church) and one of the featured speakers is Steven Curtis Chapman!

So now I'll step down off my soap box. It's 9pm. Time for me to curl up with my research! Thanks for listening.

Sandra