Seasons of Change Are Upon Us

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...Ecclesiastes 3:1

As the days, weeks, and months fly by I find myself in a new place - a new season in so many ways.  We are still walking through my mom's illness which has me at the doctor's and hospital many times each week.  Presently she's stable and in pretty good spirits all things considered.  I am so grateful for my husband and children who are supportive, helpful, and on top of things through this exhausting time.  And so many people from my sister-in-law to my mother-in-law, to my daughter-in-law's mom, to my church family have all been praying and bringing meals to my parents.  Above all, the Lord is faithful to guide us through this difficult season.

One thing that brings joy to my heart and a smile to my face is this precious little one.  My granddaughter, Iona, is almost 5 months old and such a joy.  The Lord certainly knew I'd need this bright spot during this season!

She does smile!

 Uncle Slava, Grammy & Miss Iona rocking the yellow swim suit!

 We cannot get enough of this baby!  We love on her, smush her, smell her, kiss her, cuddle her, stare at her - you name it, we just soak her up!

Iona with Grandpa!

 She fell asleep in Grampy's arms at church a few weeks back.  I couldn't resist taking this pic.  We are all in love with this baby!

Luci, Wayne Jr., Sierra, and Andrii

 We made the 4 hour trip to Rochester for the annual home school convention and graduation commencement.  With my mom's condition I wasn't sure if we would even be going.  But things worked out for Wayne and I to leave on a Thursday evening so we could enjoy the convention on Friday.  Friday afternoon Anna arrived with the Anderson family as Sierra's best friend, Luci, was graduating as well.  By 10pm Wayne Jr. arrived with Sierra, Luci, and Andrii.  Saturday morning, the day of the commencement, Curtis and Jordan arrived with the rest of the Anderson family.

Luci & CC - Class of 2014

 It seemed only fitting that we were all mixed in with the Anderson's as they are our next-door neighbors, dear friends, and home school veterans.  Luci & CC have been best friends since they were 5 years old.  I can't believe these 2 are high school graduates!

Most of us!

 Andrii, Jordan, Me, Wayne, Sierra, Anna, Wayne Jr., and Curtis.

Kerri opted to not make the trip with the baby as Iona isn't very fun to ride in the car with.  "Miss Cranky Pants" has become a term of endearment.  Slava is also not too fun to ride on long car trips with, not to mention sitting through looonnng commencement ceremonies!  Kerri stayed at our house with the baby and Slava, and her sister Shannon stayed also to lend a hand with the kids and some hay to Anna's horse.  It made things a bit easier on all of us.  

Anna, Slava, and Avalon

 Things are going pretty well with having the horse on the homestead.  Anna is thrilled and is doing a good job taking care of the horse.  Somehow she managed to talk her dad into getting a barn cat, next thing we knew a kitten has taken up residence with Avalon - and our new baby chickens.  It appears we're turning into farmers!  Seriously, we're considering getting a beef cow.  Now that we're set up for it, and with the food prices the way they are, even Wayne is beginning to see it's a good idea.  We'll see if I post a picture of a cow on the next blog update!

Victoria on fife & Andrii (back right with serious face) on drum.

 Andrii is still part of the Jubilee Fife & Drum Corps through our church.  Victoria also comes to our house each Thursday to help me homeschool the little boys and brings Slava to services at the local elementary school when I'm at the hospital with my mom.

Wayne Jr. & Curtis circa 1994

 Talk about seasons changing!  These guys are now 25 & 22!  They took me to dinner the other night as Wayne, Andrii, Jordan, and Slava were all away on a camp-out and the girls were at a youth group event.  I tried taking their picture to post on Facebook and they refused to cooperate.  I had to resort to posting this picture instead - it got over 80 "likes"!  It's one of my favorites too!  It seems like a lifetime ago that they were this little.

Surgery Time Again!

 About 5 years ago Jordan had growing rods placed in his back to help straighten severe scoliosis.  When we adopted him at age 3 he had a cork-screw curved spine, we suspect from alcohol exposure in the womb.  Since the rod placement he's had to have the rods revised and lengthened about every 6 months or so.  I've lost track of how many times we've done this.  This brave boy is such a trooper.  He endures this procedure without complaint every time.  We hope to be getting to the end of it as he's almost 11 and once his torso stops growing it will be time for the next phase.  Depending on his growth and how his spine responds the next step could be permanent rods and spinal fusion, spinal fusion only, or nothing at all.  We're praying for a miraculous healing so he will not need anything more done.

If you were brave enough to make it all the way to the bottom of this post, first of all - thank you! And second, would you be willing to become a follower?  Just check out the right side of the blog and click where it asks if you'd like to follow.  It would be a great encouragement to me!  My goal is to blog at least monthly, if not weekly, but presently life is not cooperating with that plan.  So I blog when I can!  Thank you!

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.

I Could Never Do That

"That's so wonderful what you've done for those kids.  I could never do that."  I've heard that comment many times, and I always cringe.  First of all, I am brutally aware that I haven't done anything more than obey God.  Isn't that what we're all supposed to do?  Walk out in obedience what He has called us to do?  And caring for orphans is something He calls all of us to do.  Secondly, I am only able to do what He calls me to do because He does it through me.  My job is to remain in His presence, so I can hear His voice and follow His lead.

Over 15 years ago in a women's Bible study group I was immersed in Blackaby's Experiencing God:  Knowing and Doing His Will.  That study transformed my walk with God.  Since then my everyday goal has been to experience God - to know His will and to walk it out in obedience.  Funny how God doesn't waste anytime issuing the first assignment!  And you know how the Scripture says, "Well done good and faithful servant.  You've been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master's happiness."?  It's true.

 My first assignment was welcoming an 8 year old girl into our home.  She was kin, needed a family, and we were that family.  Looking back, it amazes me that we were clueless to the James 1:27 mind-set.  We didn't think, "Oh, orphans and widows, let's do this."  We just saw a need, knew God wanted us to meet it, and so we did.  I will say this, 5 adopted kids later, I wish I knew then what I know now.  We have no regrets about adopting our daughter who is now 24.  The only regret being not knowing or understanding wounded children.  My second assignment was to volunteer-teach at the small Christian school our kids attended.  There I discovered my passion for teaching and God's sense of humor, as my next assignment was to homeschool our then 4 kids.  That was 11 years ago and Flach Academy is still going strong.  I have 4 survivors, I mean graduates, and 4 current students.  Then came our biggest assignment (yet):  to grow our family through international adoption.  We stepped out in faith again and adopted our 3 Ukrainian-born kids 7 years ago, and then 3 years later continued the journey to the 4th.

The above mentioned assignments do not have a deadline or completion date.  They are on-going.  That's ok with me because it has been this on-the-job-training that has brought me closer to the Lord.  My faith has grown, I've matured in the things of God, and I have a deeper understanding of my salvation.  Adopting children taught me about my own spiritual adoption in ways I wouldn't have learned otherwise.  The Bible says, He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.  Is that not what it means no know me? Declares the Lord.  Yes, caring for orphans will bring you to a place of knowing God beyond anything you can imagine.  I could never do that...without God!

The Calendar Says It's Spring

Well, the calendar says it's spring even if the upstate NY weather hasn't sprung!  It's still cold, but our days are busy and full.  Recently I enjoyed a little escape with Sierra as we headed to the western part of NY to visit Houghton College.  She loved it - even if it is 4 1/2 hours away.  She's already been accepted there for the fall, but we're looking at a couple more.  I guess that means more road trips are pending!

Houghton Or Bust!

The little boys are getting cabin fever.  They keep escaping to Daddy's garage and dragging various items of interest into the house.  The other day Jordan actually used plexiglass and wood dowels and built this little table.  Slava decided to enjoy his snack on it.

Great Grandmothers with Iona!

 I love this pic of my mom (on left) and my mother-in-law (on right) holding their great-granddaughter!  This is a precious picture to me.  My mom has been ill and my mother-in-law had a hip replacement the same day the baby was born!

Legislative Day in Albany, NY

 Crystal Langdon, of Crystal Clear Finances invited me to share her table at Leg Day 2014 so I could represent Justice For Orphans there.  Crystal is responsible for me being on the radio for the very first time a few years ago.  That led to our radio show on The New Light WDCD in Albany, and then the Lord opened the door further for us to be on The Sound of Life also.  Two exciting radio developments:  (1) all of our past Orphans No More shows are now on our website  http://justicefororphansny.org just click on "Events" and then "Radio Show"!  (2) WDCD just added another time slot for or show!  We are now on 1:30pm Fridays, 10:30am Sundays, and 1:30pm Wednesdays!

Miss Iona & Aunt Sierra

 This little blessing is getting bigger! She's almost 2 months old already!  She's looking around and checking everyone out - and there are a lot of us to check out!

Uncle Curtis!

 Iona would like to announce that her Uncle Curtis made the Dean's list at RPI this quarter!  

Grammy & Iona

 Wednesday nights are my "date nights" with my grand baby!  I love this special time to visit with Wayne Jr., Kerri, and the baby.

Grammy Love!

Can you tell I'm loving being a grandma?  

Exceeding Abundantly Above

Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worth in us.  Unto Him be glory...   Ephesians 3:20

It's been a long winter, but God has been faithful and blessings abound!  

I came home from a day of appointments and found the kids all outside and playing with these giant icicles.  We've been studying the American Revolution and it has affected their play time!

Icicle Guns!

Jordan, Slava, Neighbor Mary, and Anna

Slava - Burrito Bongo!

 Slava often has trouble managing himself and deep-pressure touch helps him to regulate.  I'm always on the look out for ways to help him manage.  He has a weighted blanket which I wrap him in burrito-style when he feels the need.  The other day I added these weighted core discs and played "bongos" on him.  He loved it!

Patriots!

 We've been watching the Liberty's Kids dvd series as part of our history curriculum.  We've also been following the current events in Ukraine since our kids are from there, we have friends there, and it's a country near-and-dear to our hearts.  While watching an episode of Liberty's Kids which included a battle between the Patriots and the British, Jordan commented, "This looks like what's going on in Ukraine."  Hmmmm, very good observation, my son!

Baby Shower Shenanigans!

 Sierra, Missy, Anna, & Kerri (opening gift).

We finally were able to pull off a baby shower for Kerri.  Between snow storms, sickness, and Iona arriving early, this was no small fete!  

Me and my girls!

 L-R (Anna, Kerri w/ Iona, Me, Missy, & Sierra)

Sending off a son.

 Recently our pastor's son, Sergey, who was adopted from Ukraine over 10 years ago, embarked on a new adventure.  He headed back to Ukraine to do a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth With A Mission (YWAM).  He's with a team that works with older kids in orphanages.  Serg has a heart to minister to orphans in Ukraine, as he had been one.  In the pic Pastor Stan is preparing to pray for his son.  On the left is Victor, Sergey's younger bio brother.  These 2 young men know what "adopted to sonship" really means.

JFO - "Love In Action" wrist band fundraiser.

 We are currently preparing for our biggest JFO event to date.  Our Love In Action - Finding Families For NY's Waiting Children event on May 16th is a foster care focused event.  Our fundraiser includes these wrist bands we're asking a $3 donation each for.  Let me know if you'd like one...or ten!  To learn more visit our website:  http://justicefororphansny.org

JFO's Justice Conference booth!

 Wayne decided to take our little boys skiing for the weekend recently, so I used the opportunity to represent JFO at the Justice Conference in Clifton Park, NY.

Radio Show Recording

 This is my view front the hosts' seat for our radio show Orphans No More.  For this episode we interviewed Stepan & Oksana Terletsky of Mercy Trucks Ukraine (pictured on the laptop).  It was our first attempt to record a show from a remote location, in this case Ukraine.  In the background is Mary's son, Kireel.  He was watching from the producer's studio.  You can listen to past episodes of the show by visiting our website http://justicefororphansny.org and click on "Events" and then "Radio Show".

Slava's Stitches

 Friday evening, while everyone was out and I was home all by myself (a rare occurrence) the phone rang beckoning me to urgent care.  Slava was bitten by a friend's dog.  With Slava's many issues, impulse control and reasoning are weak points.  He has pulled a very large dog's tail and was bitten as a result.

 He got 3 stitches in his left cheek, 1 on his head, and 5 in his ear.  He's on an antibiotic and we're watching him closely.  When I discussed with him that we should never touch a dog, he pretty much declared that if that dog bit him again he'd punch it.  I guess we still have a lot of work to do!

Singing Sisters

Missy stopped by the other day to practice music with Sierra.  Missy works at an assisted living facility and she's had Sierra come in to play the piano for the residents.  Now they're  working on some songs together.  I was blessed to hear their music!  

So that's what's been going on here!  Feeling very blessed!

Winter Wanderings

As we wander through this snowy, white winter there are a few things warming our days!  Mainly the joy we are experiencing as we get to know our newest little family member:  my very first grand daughter, Iona Elizabeth.  Though I've given birth to 3 of my own babies, there is something extra-special about a grand child.  I can't explain the desire to just sit and watch her...preferably with me holding her, but even if someone else cradles this treasure it's enough to just gaze at her preciousness!  She is the first-born of my first-born!  And my son will FaceTime with me on occasion and I get to see him handling his baby girl like he's handled a dozen babies even though she's his very first.  I am in grateful awe to my Abba Daddy that I get to see my son be an amazing daddy already.  

Newborn Photo Shoot - this one is my favorite!

Her daddy sucked his thumb too!

Hi, Grammy!

Iona & Aunt Anna!

Ok, ok, enough baby pics!  There have been other things going on in our family.  In the midst of tons of snow, we have been homeschooling, playing, running Slava to OT, PT and Speech, gearing up for a huge event for Justice For Orphans, and bringing my mom to her doctor appointments and blood transfusions.

Jordan built a "fire"!

Anna sprained her wrist snowboarding...

 ...and that was before the Olympics!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Valentines:  Sierra, Anna, Jordan, & Slava

For Valentine's Day I found these chocolate "gold medals" for the kids.  I played the Olympic theme song on my I-phone while they lined up and I gave them all gold medals for being the best kids in the world!  They got a kick out of it!  Andrii was not home at the time because he was out plowing the 2 feet of snow that fell.

I'll be doing a post soon to update on Justice For Orphans' upcoming events!  God is doing amazing things!

New Year - New Seasons

Welcome to the New Year!  It started out very interesting as New Year's Eve day my mom was taken to the hospital.  She's had a blood disorder for many years where her bone marrow over produced blood.  It over produced so much that now it's burnt out and can no longer produce enough.  From this point on she will need regular blood transfusions.  I'm her advocate, and her daughter of course, and I will be taking her to all of her appointments.  This is a new season in our lives.  Prayer is appreciated and God is faithful.

Andrii (center) and buddies Ben and Evan.

 Andrii ventured up to our camp in the Adirondacks with a couple buddies to do some snowboarding just before Christmas.  Looks like they had fun!

Justified!

 Sierra trying out Andrii's new gun.  Yup, that's right.  She's shooting guns.  Just another day in the life of this homeschooling family!

Anna & Avalon

 Anna has been enjoying bonding with her horse, Avalon.  She's been going over to the ranch twice a week for riding lessons and hands on grooming etc.  She's a happy girl.  It looks like they both are!

Slava in his weighted blanket!

 We got Slava a weighted blanket for Christmas.  Weighted blankets are recommended for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder.  He really likes it.  When he's having a hard time managing himself, we wrap him up burrito-style and have him chill out for 5 minutes.  It seems to help.  Now if we can only get him to stop hitting/kicking and saying "stupid" all the time.  Slava's a lot of work, but worth every minute of it!

Jordan and his new skates!

 The pond is frozen over and that means ice hockey!  The kids  have been hosting games every chance they get.  Our pond is a popular place this time of year.

Slava - Cool Dude at the Dentist!

I took the little boys for dental cleanings and couldn't resist snapping this picture while Slava was in the chair!  Both boys had improved brushing, but both still needed a filling each.  Basically Jordan's mouth is a mess.  He'll need lots of orthodontics in the near future.  Fun, fun.

Other things going on - this past weekend Curtis moved into his own apartment.  This is a new season for us.  He's almost 22, but it's still bittersweet for this stay-at-home/home schooling mama.  He didn't move far, but it's still an adjustment for us.  I suspect he's enjoying some peace and quiet, something our house has little of!  

We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our grand daughter!  As I type this, Kerri has 3 weeks to her due date!  With everything that's been going on, I am looking forward to the arrival of my very first grandchild and the joy she will bring to our family!  

Justice For Orphans, our ministry, has been moving and growing.  We've got some exciting events planned for 2014 along with the theme:  Love In Action.  The radio shows have been going great, we've got some fundraising events planned, and a huge foster care-focused event in the works for May.  Stay tuned for more details or visit justicefororphansny.org to learn more.

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"!