It's New Years Day, and I got to thinking about this past year.
It's probably been the hardest of my life, but just as many blessings as struggles came out of it. And there is One who is faithful no matter what life throws my way.
And then I look ahead to this next year. And I wonder what it will bring.
I'm not one for New Years resolutions as I never come through with them.
But despite that being said, this year, I want to be more intentional in spending time the things most important. My Jesus, my family, and my friends.
I am also going to take better care of myself so I have more strength to win this battle for health. I have been cheating more and more lately with what I shouldn't be eating, and the fact I'm still in pain from my not so healthy breakfast makes me say no more!
And no matter how emotionally painful and hard it is, I am going to do what Jesus has placed on my heart and find families for several specific children I have fallen in love with.
Hope you have had a great 2013, and roll into 2014 with me setting resolutions that are important and have lasting effect for the Kingdom.
Just had to share this first. I blogged about Shawna and Seth a couple day ago. The next day I found out Seth was no longer available for adoption, he was taken into domestic foster care. :( I hadn't blogged about it yet, but guess what I found out tonight!!! SHAWNA HAS A FAMILY! Soo happy for her!!! Please keep her and her family, as well as Seth in your prayers!
♥♥♥
Yes, this is in part copied from my mom's blog, but I wrote it so I can steal it. ;)
We're with family this weekend, and yesterday we had the egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's. Elijah and Jonathan quickly got the hang of it if they didn't remember from last year, but I don't think either of them realized that there was candy inside!
Jonathan
Elijah
Rachel
Rebekah
Isaac
Anna
And... this would be where my camera stopped working so no pictures of me. Not that I would have posted them anyways. :)
And some pictures from this morning (from grandma's camera)...
Best picture we got of Rachel in her dress... she wasn't in the picture taking mood. This beautiful Ukrainian sparkle dress was Little Miss Ruby's dress (one of the way cute Nance kids I got to take care in Kansas). She generously donated it to a blog auction to help her new big brother, Maxim, come home from Ukraine. Rachel loved wearing it today, even if she didn't want to pose for a picture.
As we count down the minutes of 2012 and move into the first minutes of 2013... I can't help but reflect on the past year even though I promised myself I wasn't going to do a year in review post. :) But just a few things tonight:
♥-Owen's birthday was sometime in the month of December.... He turned 5 years old. Sweet boy spent another year without a family. When will his turn come??
♥-My little brother Elijah came home two years ago today!! It hasn't been the easiest two years, but it's been an amazing two years watching him learn and grow!! Go see pictures on my mom's blog. :)
♥-The law was signed by Putin... banning all adoptions of Russian orphans by Americans. Not all hope is lost, as there is a lawyer working on an amendment that will allow SN adoptions. Please keep praying!!!
♥-I look forward to seeing what the new year brings for everyone, and what it will bring in the world of orphan advocating. Each year always brings new adventures, the only question is what they will be.
Merry Christmas everyone!!! From my family to yours!
See that ham of a little sister I have??? ;) --------------- ^^Right there^^
Today, I am soo very thankful for Ralph - our Christmas miracle!!
Theo was released on Saturday night, Ralph was on Christmas Eve. They are both home with their family today! Thank you JESUS!!!!
And even with all the Christmas joy going around, at the same time my heart is heavy for those like Ethan, who still need a Christmas miracle.
And for those who wait without families today, not knowing the magic of Christmas.
And for the law that is supposed to be signed tomorrow, stopping ALL adoptions in Russia. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray against it - no matter what your view is on RR, Russia, or even adoption, this would be a TERRIBLE thing.
Merry Christmas Everyone!! I hope you had a wonderful day celebrating Christ's birth with your families!!!
Thanksgiving Eve I was home with the little ones while everyone was at the Thanksgiving Eve service, so we made Thanksgiving treats! All was going well. Rachel was having fun, Elijah was getting lots of good OT, Jonathan was being cranky. Until they finished peeling the Reese's Peanut Butter cups, and I let them each have one. Then Elijah decided he did not like his, and gagged on it, and I was reminded again I don't do puke. ;P
Here are some pictures from before our little episode:
My day Thanksgiving day started at 5:30, when my dad, my 8yo brother Isaac, and I got dressed in orange. But unlike usual when we dress in orange that early, we were'nt going out in the woods. We were also getting dressed to go running, and to go and take a picture with a giant turkey.
Our first Turkey Trot! A 2mi run/walk. I'm not athletic and I'm not a runner, but I started running about a month ago, and am happy to say I finished my first "race"! I'm homeschooled and have to get my 2 PhyEd credits in somehow, right? ;)
Here's my vlog (video blog) of the race. But if you don't want to watch it, here are a few pics.
Getting ready to start!
That's a lot of peoples!
Isaac crossing the finish line!
Me crossing the finish line!
2 mi in 26 min! My first run was 1/2 mi in 30 min, so not bad to improve my pace that much!
I posted this on our Handiwork for Lilly and Owen Facebook page Thanksgiving night - Happy Thanksgiving!!! Today we are thankful for YOU! Thank you for helping us help Elijah (now Sarah's brother), Anastasia (now Carrington Burman), Sergey, Eddie (now Gideon Evensen), Noah (now Noah Silva), Jonathan (now Sarah's brother), and now Lilly and Owen home!!! Plus Carter Gibson, Caleb Prevost, Naika T, and Jimmy Ott home through benefits and craft sales! You guys are amazing, and we could not be doing this without you!
In addition to that, today I am thankful for all the usually things - family, friends, a roof over my head, always enough to eat, etc.... but I'm also thankful that God has broke my heart for what breaks His, and that I am able to advocate on this blog for the least of these. All the hours I've spent blogging, all the tears I've shed over children, it's all worth it, if it helps bring one child home.
Ok, Black Friday. First of all, I love this picture, and I totally agree with it's message. Such a wonderful reminder.
At the same time, I am not against getting good deals on things that people would have bought anyways even if it wasn't on sale. But you do have to draw a line somewhere, and some people can get a little crazy and obsessive on the day after they say they are thankful for everything they have. Ironic, isn't it, that those two days, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are right next to each other. :P
We did do some Black Friday shopping at Kohl's (it opened at midnight... we can do midnight, but not 6am!), but it was mostly things like church clothes we would have bought anyway. I went mostly for the fun of it, and did another vlog, about it and the... people there when the store opened. I would call them crazy and stupid, but that's not very nice.
We weren't one of those in and out people.. we were actually looking around and shopping. And picking up knocked over cloths. And trying not to get run over. This one lady barged her way through where I was standing, and literally knocked me over. She didn't stop to help me up, say sorry or even acknowledge what she just did. And another lady got mad at me because I was in her way when I was trying to get up. People weren't even treating each other like human beings!
Read This: “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when what is perfect comes, the partial will be set aside. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways. For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:9-13)
Think: Who doesn’t remember where they were when they heard America was under attack? Or when they first saw the footage of the planes flying into the twin towers? We were shocked, confused, vulnerable, and eventually angry. No longer isolated to other parts of the world, terrorism brought itself to our front door. As a nation, we were changed. In the face of such an atrocious act of violence our cores beliefs are challenged in ways we perhaps never imagined.
Paul encourages us to hold fast to our faith. In the face of any tragedy, it’s easy to lose sight of God’s goodness. Surrounded by pain, suffering, and sin we can become discouraged and feel overwhelmed by the situation. But God’s goodness and grace abound even in darkness. And he is always in control, even when, especially when, everything else seems so out of control.
It’s because of God’s goodness that we ultimately have hope. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, God can heal and restore our joy because he is the giver of true peace. When we are able to embrace that, we rise above the chaos around us to see his face more clearly. In the same way, we have hope for the future when all will be made right and justice will prevail. There will be no more tears and no more pain.
And yet the greatest of these is love. There’s such freedom when we open our hearts to love those around us. Yes, we love on those who are hurting, those who are alone, and those who have loved us. But the true testimony of Jesus is to “love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your father in heaven” (Matt 5:44-45). If we withhold forgiveness and mercy, we allow bitterness and hatred to take root—the perfect end to Satan’s plan. Don’t let him win any battles. Love is the greatest trump card of all time.
Ask: How have you personally changed in both positive and negative ways because of 9/11? Do you worry more? Hate more? Do you pray more?
Pray: 9/11 remains a difficult day for countless families and friends who have lost a loved one. Please take a moment to pray for them. Also remember to pray for our enemies.
I don't remember 9/11. I had turned 3 exactly one month before, and things like that don't really make a difference to a 3 year old. But every person I know who is who was at least 1 or 2 years older than me remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing on that fateful day. The day our nation changed forever.
Today we remember those who died and gave their lives, and pray for the families who lost loved ones, because even after 11 years, it still hurts.
We sang this song on Sunday at church, and it is on of my favorite Easter songs ever! (Well, I don't have very many favorite Easter songs, but I still love this one!)
You are probably wondering what that song has to do with Carrington. Well, on Reece's Rainbow, she was/is listed with the name Anastasiya. This is what her profile looked like before she found a family. (Click on it to make it larger.)
If you go here, there is a list of Russian names and their meanings. A few names down on the list is Anastasiya.
If you can't see that, it says that Anastasiya means Resurrection. Let's take a look at the word 'Resurrection'. From the dictionary, it means: Resurrection: the act ofrisingfromthedead.
And how true that is for our little Carrington. I don't know if Anastasiya (spelled a different way) was her real name or was just the name whoever listed her on RR gave her. Either way, it was totally God naming her.
When Carrington (Anastasiya) came home, she was immediately rushed to the hospital. The doctors said her body was shutting down to die and she would have died within a few days if she had stayed at the orphanage. But God's timing is perfect! He planned that she would make it home before she passed away, and look at her now! At home and thriving! Just like God's timing was perfect when Jesus was on earth 2000 years ago. He wouldn't let anyone take Jesus' life before it was his time. And the same when Jesus comes again! It won't be a moment too soon because Jesus was impatient, or a moment to late because Jesus forgot. It will be at the exact perfect time, that God already has planned! And you could pretty much say that Carrington is risen from the dead! (Or if you prefer, her deathbed.)
Do you see now why Resurrection is such a fitting meaning for Carrington? Now go back up and listen to that song again. Jesus has risen from the dead! Amen!
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Carrington went from this -
To this -
And now her family is stepping out in faith to save two more little boys who are far tinier than they should be - Kelten and Teagan.
The Burman's are one AMAZING family, and I'm so glad I have been able to witness Carrington thrive and blossom follow along on their amazing journey as they save the least of these.
I pray you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families this year!! Let's remember that the reason for the season is Jesus Christ!!
A year ago today, my mom was in Ukraine adopting Elijah who didn't know at the time what the love of a FAMILY meant. Neither did Jonathan. But they both do now and are spoiled to help make up for the years they spent Christmas alone. I look at them and can't believe how lucky I am for being privileged to be their big sister.
But my heart aches for those who are spending this Christmas alone, still not knowing what the love of a family means. I pray that next Christmas, many will know what it means to be loved, unconditionally.
Please say a prayer today for all those spending this Christmas alone.
What will you do this holiday season to help change the life of an orphan so they know what the love of a family means??
What will you do to give this Christmas away??
(video is worth the watch, but grab some tissues first!)
Earlier this week we decorated our Christmas tree.... Here are pics, and my favorite ornaments! :)
I apologize in advance for the blurry pictures... I had my camera on a weird setting to try and make the best of the low light in the room, and didn't realize until I uploaded them that they were so blurry!
Yup, here I go with the watermarks again!
Hey Rach, THIS is Sar-bear, not me! :)
Martroyshka doll! :)
Look! We were only a family of 4! That was back in 2002 though.... :)
Jonathan hanging out on the floor loving the tree! "You have a camera!! oh YUM!"
"Coming in for a taste test!!"
"HAHAHA Almost got it!!"
"Ok, you won that time, but I've got another plan!"
"I'll distract you with my cuteness!"
Rachel insisted she needed a picture too! "Ma-nan" (her word for Jonathan) can't be the only star!
"Plan B: I'll bounce up and down so fast she can't take pictures!"
"Wow! She still got a sorta good one!"
My 3 favorite ornaments on the tree!! :)
Look! An ornament form last year. It's Carrington!! Little did we know at the time we got this ornament how grave condition she was in. PRAISE GOD she is HOME with her FAMILY and THRIVING NOW!
And this year's ornaments! Tabitha is still waiting!!
Lilly is still waiting for her family!
And of course Lyla (Lilianna) is still waiting!!
(She is not in the picture above, because she is not supposed to be on the tree yet! She along with two others have to wait to go on the tree until Christmas! But shh! Don't tell anyone I said that, I'm not supposed to know that!)
