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!

Every Good and Perfect Gift Is From Above!

Monday morning, 1/27/14, began with me taking my mom to her blood transfusion.  But when I awoke to start the day I found a message on my cell phone from my son, "We are at the hospital."  Could it be that our anxiously anticipated little bundle of blessing (aka very first grand baby) would make her arrival 2 weeks early???  I headed out to bring my mom to Albany Memorial Hospital while my mind was on what could be happening at St. Peter's Hospital just a few miles away. 

Mom & I playing Yahtzee to pass the time.

 As we were leaving Albany Memorial to head to St. Peter's I got this message, "10 cm dilated and pushing."  Ahhhhhhh.  I flew to St. Peter's.  As I threw my car at the valet parking guys I got another text..."born 11:50am, 6 lbs 3 oz."  Ahhhhhh  get me to the 3rd floor!!!!  I dumped my parents off at the room of my nephew and his wife (their baby boy arrived 5 weeks early the day before) and I not-so-patiently waited in the waiting room for Wayne Jr.  After being joined by Kerri's parents and sister, the 2 very ecstatic grandmothers were escorted to the delivery room for our very first peek at our precious grand daughter:  Iona Elizabeth Flach!

Happy Family!

Happy Grammy Flach

Happy Grandpa!

Monday was a whirlwind day.  I spent most of the day between 2 hospitals.  In addition to my first born having his first born, I got a peek at my nephew's baby boy, and my mother-in-law had hip replacement surgery at the same hospital that same morning!  I guess little miss Iona didn't want to miss the party!  The happy family came home on Wednesday and are doing wonderfully!  All my kids are excited to be first time aunts and uncles.

Great Grandma & Grandpa

On Saturday my parents were able to visit Wayne Jr., Kerri, and baby Iona.  I treasure this picture of my mom holding my grand daughter.  My mom celebrates her 76th birthday this week.  We celebrated with a family dinner out at our favorite restaurant.  But the best present of all, the good and perfect gift from above, shining down from the Father of light - my precious grand daughter!

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.

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"!