Christmas Day at Flach Manor

Merry Christmas from Flach Manor!  Keeping up with blog posts might be a bit easier now that I got this handy dandy Mac-book Pro for Christmas!  Yup, I got the best hubby and family in the world!  We enjoyed a couple wonderful family celebrations the last few days.  Christmas Eve we traditionally spend with Wayne's family.  The evening includes delicious food, my mother-in-law reading from the Bible about our Savior's birth, my father-in-law sharing a word, prayer, gifts, and family fellowship.  It was a good evening.  

Rita, John and Victor on the right.

Christmas morning started peacefully.  I was up at 6:30am enjoying some quiet time, coffee, and Luke chapter 2.  Then Wayne joined me for coffee at 7am.  I think it was the first Christmas morning ever that we were up before any kids!  Jordan was the first kid up at 7:30am, then they all started rolling out.  

 Wayne watching Jordan opening his stocking.

We let the kids open their stockings until everyone is up, then Wayne reads Luke 2 and everyone has to share something they're thankful for.  I pray and then presents begin flying!

Wayne and Slava enjoying some cuddle time!

 Breakfast includes Christmas Quiche, which I make the night before, and our newest tradition - home made cinnamon rolls.  Seven years ago when we spend Christmas in Ukraine, our precious missionary friends, Joey & Laura Stoltzfus, welcomed us into their home on Christmas morning.  Laura made home made cinnamon rolls for us.  Missy and I decided that if Laura can pull that off in her kitchen in Kiev, we could pull them off in our kitchen here in NY!  We've had them every year since.

Awe...Kerri opened a blanket for Iona!

 Our kids pick names among themselves to exchange gifts.  This year Sierra got Kerri's name and sewed her a baby blanket.  She stitched a Bible verse (Let the little children come and do not forbid them for such is the Kingdom of Heaven) and stitched Iona Elizabeth in the corner.  Kerri was tearfully happy with this special gift!

Slava aka - Little Drummer Boy!

 All Slava could talk about was getting a drum set for Christmas.  Every gift opened from under the tree he scrutinized to see if it could possibly be a drum set.  The poor little guy, we made him wait until the last gifts were opened, then Andrii carried the big box up stairs.  He was soooo excited!  It was the perfect gift for him.  Slava has incredible rhythm combined with his sensory processing disorder which drives him to bang on things - I'd say he's destined to be a drummer!

Jordan and Officer Andersen!

 Jordan wants to be a policeman when he grows up.  Our good friends and next-door neighbors - the Anderson's surprised Jordan on Christmas morning.  Their son, Elias who lives in Vermont but was home for Christmas, came over to arrest Jordan!  The hand cuffs fell off and he tried getting away, so Officer Anderson had to taser him - only kidding.  But Jordan was thrilled to see a real taser!  Elias just completed police academy a few months ago and is an officer with the Rutland police.

Poppy Ken

 After the police left, Christmas morning returned to normal and my parents arrived.  They opened gifts, ate dinner with us, and spent the day visiting.

Annual Mom & Curtis dinner date.

 Curtis and I enjoy an annual dinner date around Christmas - just him and I.  We don't get to spend much time together since he's a busy college student and works when he's not at school and I'm busy with the little kids all the time.  Pretty soon Curtis will be moving into his own apartment.  It won't be far away since it's nearby, but it will be different.  Bittersweet.

Missy, Anna, me, Sierra and my mom!

 My girls love to take pictures of themselves.  They decided that on Christmas day the tree and their grandmother made great props!  Seriously, I love this pic with my mom.

Andrii & Jordan - Lego Maniacs!

Jordan is now our official Lego maniac.  He got 3 sets for Christmas from various family members.  He was on a building mission all day and thankfully, Andrii was his helper.

All in all it was a quiet, blessed day.  Wayne Jr. & Kerri spent the day with her family, so they are coming over on Saturday and we'll do Christmas all over again!  I am so blessed!  Thank you, Lord!

Merry Christmas from Flach Manor!

It amazes me how busy life has gotten.  It's been 2 months since I updated this blog and my goal is to update weekly!  Well, time to get you caught up on what we've been up to!  

When I last updated, Justice For Orphans was in full swing of preparing for our annual orphan conference on 10/26 and Orphan Sunday on 11/3.  Then we launched a month-long campaign on The Sound of Life radio network to celebrate National adoption month in November.  As our weekly radio show wrapped up at the end of November, Mary and I sensed that God wasn't done yet, so we renewed our contract with The New Light WDCD and are back in the studio recording our weekly Orphans No More show.  We are in awe at how the Lord has grown this ministry.  We are prayerfully seeking Him for a vision for 2014 as we anticipate many exciting opportunities to share God's heart for the orphan with the Church.  

On the home front, life is busy and blessed as usual.  We celebrated Slava's 8th birthday, Anna's 14th birthday, and Wayne's 50th - all in October!  Then Sierra turned 17 in November and I officially graduated her from homeschool-high school in December.  She is now enrolled in Liberty University's online degree program, and since all her credits she'd been earning through Liberty's Edge Program (for high school students) transferred over to the degree program, she will have an Associates Degree in Psychology by August (at the age of 17 I might add)!  Curtis just completed his first semester at RPI and plans to move into his own apartment in late January.  We just survived the 1st quarter of our homeschool year with all the kids doing great.  Slava is still attending OT, PT and Speech weekly too.  We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Iona Elizabeth!  Kerri has about 7 weeks left to her due date of 2/11.  Did I mention we are excited!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wayne Jr. sharing his espresso expertise with Sierra.

 Sierra got an espresso machine for her birthday and has been busy caffeinating the whole family!

Orphans No More!

 Mary and I were so excited to interview my good friend, Phyllis Whittam, and her 2 adopted children as we celebrated National Adoption Month on the show!

Orphan Sunday!

 As Mary spear-headed the Orphan Sunday celebration at our church, I was at Goodwill Church in Montgomery, NY with the Sound of Life radio network.  Sierra and Andrii joined me as orphan ministry is a family ministry!  I got to speak at both services at Goodwill and on the air with SoL.  We had a long, exhausting, blessed day which ended with a dinner date with Wayne's cousin and her husband who live down by Montgomery.

My heart swells with blessing...

 ...I walked into church early one morning to discover my boys (left-to-right):  Curtis, Andrii, Jordan, and Wayne Jr. in an impromptu jam session!

Making Dreams Come True!

 Anna has long desired a horse of her own.  She's taken lessons for a while now and we'd been on the look out for a good "first horse" for her.  Anna's instructor found this horse for us.  And it seemed that  if we were ever going to make her dream come true - this was the horse to do it with.  We welcomed Avalon, an 8 year old mare, American Quarter Horse - paint to the family in December.  She's boarding at the stable near our house where Anna takes lessons, but in the spring we plan to move her to Flach Manor once we're set up for a horse.    This is a big step for us, but since equine therapy can have such a positive impact on kids from hard places, we feel it is worth the investment.

What is Flach Manor you ask?  Well, it's an affectionate name for our home that our teens came up with.  They've even started answering the phone, "Hello, Flach Manor."  It stuck!

Jordan plowing the driveway after a recent snow storm.

Slava "helping" with the snow blower!

Happy 8th Birthday, Slava!

 He wanted his own Bible for his birthday.

Happy 14th Birthday, Anna!

That's all from Flach Manor for now.  I pray you have a blessed Christmas season and a Happy New Year.  If you enjoy following our family you can find me on Facebook at "Sandra Flach" and our ministry at "Justice For Orphans"!

Christmas Blessings

Merry Christmas!  It's certainly been a busy holiday season around our house!  Amid all the chaos I try to find time to update my Gratefulness Journal which I started a few months back.  I'm up to #573 even though I don't write in it daily, which is what I wanted to do, I do add a bunch of things each time I sit down with it.  

Cookie Baking!

Jordan, Wayne, and Anna

 #570- I'm thankful that Sierra and Anna help me with all the holiday baking!  It was a blessing to be able to hide in my room and wrap presents while the girls were doing the annual baking.  They were a huge help to me.

Christmas Eve morning football anyone?

 What's with teenagers who have to be doing something somewhere all the time with their friends?  A bunch of the kids from church like to get together often to play football.  And of course Christmas Eve morning sounded like a good time to play!  #571- I'm thankful for a husband who will shuttle Sierra, Andrii, and Anna off to play football, while I stay home and get my Christmas broccoli casserole made.

Christmas Eve 

Around the island l to r:  Wayne Jr. (seated), me, Sierra, Curtis, Keith (my nephew), Nicholl -JC's fiancee (seated), and Kerri (seated).  

 Our Christmas Eve is celebrated with my husband's family, and we take turns with hosting the celebration.  This year it was Wayne's brother John and his wife Liz's turn to host.  In spite of the incredible heart break that our family has been walking through with the loss of John and Liz's son, my nephew JC, back in September, they decided to go ahead and  host the gathering.  After appetizers and a ham dinner we gathered together for my mother-in-law to read the Christmas story in Luke.  Then she shared some words and my father-in-law (our beloved patriarch) shared some words.  My son Curtis was asked by Liz to read the poem "Christmas In Heaven."  Then my father-in-law closed in a prayer of thanksgiving.  It was a tearful time, but we made it through even though a V.I.P was missing.

John, Vienna, and Wayne

 This pic cracks me up because Vienna hopped right in my husband's lap.  I think she thought he was John - like she didn't realize the difference!

Christmas Morning Stocking Opening!

 Slava & Jordan strolled out about 7:15am to check out the tree.  Anna joined them shortly thereafter.  After waking up Daddy (Mommy was up first!)  we let the little kids open their stockings while waiting for the big kids to roll out of bed.  By about 8:00am we were all gathered in the living room where we all prayed and then sang, "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.  Then present-opening commenced!

Christmas Morning Breakfast!

 It's been our tradition to have Christmas Quiche for breakfast.  It makes the morning easier since I make it the night before.  The home-made cinnamon rolls are a newer tradition we've done about 5 years now.  The inspiration for them came when we were in Ukraine 6 years ago for our 1st adoption.  We spent Christmas morning there at the home of dear missionary friends, Joey and Laura Stoltzfus.  Laura made these delicious cinnamon rolls for breakfast that morning, and now I make them for Christmas morning too.  Actually, this year, Sierra made them.  They're pretty easy since we make them the night before, and I just have to put them in the oven for 20 minutes when we get up.  Yummy!  Notice the new stove.  #520 - I'm thankful my oven broke a week before Christmas (in the midst of baking cookies) instead of breaking on Christmas morning!

Missy got a microwave for Christmas!

 Missy joined us for Christmas Eve and then had to work 11pm to 7am.  She came from work after picking up her boyfriend, and made it in time to open presents with us.  Then she went to take a nap in Sierra's room.

Officer Flach

 Jordan wants to be a police man.  He asked for a police baton for Christmas.  We got him the baton, the uniform, hand cuffs, and a badge.  He loved it!

Wayne Jr., Kerri, and Andrii!

 #572 - I am so blessed to have ALL of my children under one roof for Christmas Day!  Wayne & Kerri arrived around 2pm after spending the morning with her family.  Her parents and sister joined us for Christmas dinner as well.

Jordan, Sierra, and Slava

 Christmas night ended with Sierra hosting a sleep-over in her room with the little boys.  And to all a good night!

Oops, this pic is out of sequence, sorry.

My parents arrived by noon to exchange gifts and have dinner with us too.  #573 - celebrating Christmas with both of my parents.  My cousin, Vess, and Jean & Earl Smith Missy's God-Parents) also joined us for dinner - that made a total of 20 people around our dinner table.  It was a busy, blessing filled day of family, friends, food, and fellowship.  God is good!

Busy, but Blessed!

December was such a busy month that I just never got the chance to post. We enjoyed 2 wonderful weeks off of school but life was still busy. After Christmas I spent much of the week on the computer doing annual adoption reports (progress reports on each kid sent to the Consulate General of Ukraine in NY) and homeschool quarterly reports on each of the 5 kids. We returned to school on Tuesday, sort of, since I had to take Jordan to get his cast off in the morning. The day before I spent quite a bit of time correcting about 3 weeks worth of Sierra's school work, something I just never get to during the school week! It's a good thing she's self motivated, maybe too much so. Sometimes I find my self telling her to stop doing school work because she's so far ahead and I'm so far behind.

I bumped into my dear friend, Jay, in the grocery store yesterday. We hadn't seen each other in probably over a year. It was so good to see each other that we spent a good half of an hour getting caught up. Mostly I needed to be updated on her family. It turns out that Jay peruses this blog and reported that I hadn't posted lately. So, Jay, here it is!

It is a Flach family tradition to spend Christmas Eve with Wayne's parents and all his siblings and their kids. We enjoy appetizers and family fellowship, then Rita reads the Christmas story from the Bible. Wayne's dad shares a message from his heart. This year he challenged each of us, especially the grandchildren (the 5th generation), to walk with God. He illustrated the family tree starting with his grandparents, Karl & Anna, who arrived in NYC from Germany. They ran a bakery and Anna attended a German service at Ridgewood Pentecostal Chruch in Brooklyn. She got saved, then later Karl did too. Charles (Wayne's grandfather) got saved there as well (as did many of his siblings), and that was the beginning of the Godly heritage in our family.

Flach Family Tree

Notice that our branch has the most nuts!

Actually I find it interesting that Karl & Anna had 8 kids, and so do we!

We even have an Anna from E. Europe.

Christmas Morning

Doesn't it look like Slava's saying, "Where's my pants?"

Christmas day was very precious to me. Missy slept over to be with us in the morning. My parents came, Wayne & Kerri, Tom & Linda, and Shannon (Kerri's family), and Jean & Earl Smith (Missy's Godparents) all joined us for dinner. I felt so incredibly blessed to have all of my children with me the whole day.

Slava's House

What a difference a year makes! Slava has come so far. This year he was really into Christmas and could answer questions about the Christmas story because we read it to him so much. We asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he said, "A house." So, he got a house. He was so excited when Daddy carried the big box in, he actually was jumping up and down. Then he "helped" Daddy build the house!

With the holidays now over, we're back to the busyness of life. Jordan has his next surgery on Tuesday, 12/10. Please keep him in prayer. It's just a "routine" rod lengthening with just 1 overnight in the hospital, but we always want God's presence throughout it.

Jordan wins the prize for the biggest scar!

Jordan asked me to take a picture of his scar so he could see it. Well, here it is. As crooked as it looks, it is much straighter then it was prior to the rod surgery. And he's much taller since he's finally growing.

Today marks the 5th year anniversary of the day we brought Andrii, Anna, & Jordan home from Ukraine! We are blessed beyond measure to have the God given privilege to raise these kids for Him. Thank you, Lord!

The LORD has been very faithful to us in 2011. We saw answered prayer in Slava, God's protection over our children, a house for my parents, good health, and countless other blessings. We're looking forward to walking with God through 2012!

Happy New Year & Abundant Blessings to you,

Sandra

Family Fun

My plan with this blog is to update weekly...ha ha...easier said than done! Life is so busy and full that I just don't get to everything. I've stumbled upon a plan of success recently though. I begin my day with a list of things I'd like to or need to accomplish, then I give it to the Lord and ask Him to accomplish what is on His list instead. Amazingly, when I remember to do this, my days are much less overwhelming and much more productive.

We've had some fun family times since my last post too. Sierra turned 15 in November! I just can't believe it. We also attended a bridal shower for my nephew's bride-to-be. Now we're mid-way into December and Christmas preparations are upon us. Our tree is up, the house is decorated, cookies are baking, and there's a whole lotta shopping going on! This week will be the last week of school for us (another advantage of homeschooling). So the week before Christmas we can enjoy the season while getting all the last minute things done.

Toilet Paper Brides

Sierra & Gracie (victims of a bridal shower game)!

Some Flach Girls

Sierra & Missy with Grammy Flach

The Birthday Girl

Mr. Slava

This picture cracks me up!

Wayne took pics of the boys in his Royal Ranger class for a craft project, and this was Slava's pose!

This week is shaping up to be a marathon week: Jordan has a doctor's appt, piano lesson, church ladies' Christmas party, Royal Rangers/Missionettes' Christmas parties, Christmas shopping with Curtis, attending a play with the kids, a hair appt, a birthday-movie-date with Sierra, and the last week of school until January!!! Tis the season to be jolly! But after this week things will slow down and we will snuggle in and enjoy the celebration of Christ's birth with our family!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010

It amazes me that Christmas is already over! The past week was just a blurr for me. I actually collapsed into bed at 10pm Christmas Eve (the earliest I've ever been to bed on Christmas Eve) and announced to Wayne that I never felt this exhausted with our newborns! Of course I must have been but that was at least a decade and a half ago. I'm a bit older now with a larger family and all the added work of the Christmas season has really worn me out. Everything was accomplished on time though. We enjoyed a nice Christmas Eve day with my parents and my precious son and daughter-in-law. They arrived with a very large bundle of silver boxes all tied together with ribbon which turned out to be a gift for ME from all my big kids. I had no idea what it could be, but each box contained a ton of fluffy new bath towels. It was a great idea because we were in desperate need of towels around here. With 9 people showering all the time towels are a precious resource and now we have a beautiful abundance. After our time together we all packed up and headed to the Flach Family Christmas Eve celebration. This includes dinner with Wayne's whole family, his mom reading the Christmas story, prayer, and gifts. It was a wonderful time, but Wayne and I were fried by the end because Slava was over-stimulated and over-tired by the end of it all. His behaviour is improving at home, but new places are whole new worlds to explore for him and he does not sit still for a moment. Therefore, we do not take him to very many new places yet. But Christmas Eve was an exception and we did enjoy our time with our family.

Gram & Pop Flach gave Slava a piano for Christmas. Once he was in bed Papa put it together and set it by the Christmas tree. When Slava got up (and he was the 1st one up) he found that piano and it kept him busy all morning! He loved it and kept saying, "Slava's music-ah". I was able to get my turkey into the oven, enjoy my coffee, and wait for all the other kids to stagger into the living room all while Slava played his little piano.

We enjoyed opening gifts as a family and then around 11am my parents came. Slava received another favorite gift - a little red tricycle. Though he does not peddle it he does ride the thing all over the house. That night he even rode it into his bedroom and parked it next to his bed so it could go "spot" too! Grandmas are priceless!

Each day Slava does make baby-steps of progress in his behaviour. He is bonding with and attaching to us. Mostly he presents as a 2 year old going through the "terrible-twos" only much smarter then a 2 year old. When we have him engaged in playing with us he's great, but left to wander and he's into everything. We make sure one of us is with him at all times and all the doors to all the rooms are locked or gated off. Today while playing a toy bowling game he accidentally dropped the ball on Jordan's head. Jordan took it a little too hard and started crying. While I was trying to comfort him, Slava came over and said, "Jordan, Slava sorry." He kept repeating it, genuinely meaning it though Jordan wasn't too accepting of his apology. Jordan seems to be under some stress with the whole adjustment phase; he could really use some prayer. The other day he'd had it with Slava and stomped off declaring, "I hate kids!"

We've been home a whole month now and thankfully the past 2 weeks have been much better than the first 2. We are confident that God will continue this good work. It still is very challenging though. Today I announced to Sierra that I wished January was over. She pointed out that January had not yet started. I guess I'm just dreading starting up school and juggling Slava. And on Jan 11th Jordan has surgery. I posted before that we won't know until Dr. Carl gets in there if it'll be a routine adjustment which is one over-night or an actual rod replacement which would lead to several nights in the hospital. Usually I stay the night with Jordy, and if it turns out to be just one night we can make due. But we must have a plan in place incase it's more then that. I've been praying about it and we are thinking that if it's more then one night then Wayne will spend the nights in the hospital so I can be home with Slava in the morning when he gets up (at 6am) and then once someone is at the house I will go to the hospital so Wayne can go to work. I'm really hoping the surgery will be just an adjustment. It's just too soon for all that disruption for Slava.

The Lord reminded me today that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). It is not me for I am not able to do this task set before me, it is Christ in me. I give Him all the glory.

Wow, this has been quite the long post. I guess I better post more often instead throwing it all at you at once. Thank you for faithfully following this blog and for your prayers, we do still need them. Have a blessed New Year and we'll keep you posted on our crazy life as we go throughout it.