Checkers

We have been playing checkers and more checkers..... then Paul brought home Chinese checkers and for a lg. family who is always looking for games that many can play.... Chinese checkers works well. We just have to buy another one or two but that is how things are done here.... I bought Paul a waffle maker for his b-day ( he loves waffles). We have to go back and get at least 3 so that we can all eat breakfast together... as small as they make them we would be cooking them until lunch. So if anyone ever wants to share ideas of places to buy large items or things to cook with share away... I would love an industrial stove... so that my pots which are all huge now would cook in a timely fashion.. also to bake the necessary amount of food now it requires a minimum of 3 lg. casserole dishes and only 2 fit side by side... the oven cooks longer and diff. when you add the 3d one on the bottom... Not complaining here just dreaming. Here is a pic of the kids enjoying checkers....

I am home now

I just got home tonite... Paul came and got us ( Naty ,Leah and me). They are doing well. They have a strong and deep faith that will help them. Praise the Lord for that. It was so good to spend time with my dear "grand" babies though. Actually Ella is 3 and she has quite an imagination.... There were crabs and spiders that we "played" with everytime she followed me to my room.... there was even one called "Spideras" and we played lots of hide and seek. Then there was sweet , dear Ezra 16 months. He was actually sick some for part of the time but was better the last few days. He loves blueberries and his chin and fingers stayed blue. I loved being there for our visit and just being with them... it is so hard to live apart ( 5 plus hrs drive). Thank you Lord for the special hugs , the beautiful smiles and the laughter I had this week with Ella and Ezra.

An update about Jenn and Jeremiah

Please pray for them as the baby has died... they just called and are understandably upset. I am on my way down to them... Please pray for their hearts and the huge ache this will cause for them. Thank you for those who have been praying.

Please pray

Our daughter, Jenn called this am to say she is spotting and cramping. She is 14 weeks along in her pregnancy.... Please pray for Jeremiah, Jenn and the baby. It is scary and discerning to go thru this uncertainty but they know the Lord is in control of their lives. It is so hard to be away from them (6 hrs) when alls I want to do is hug them... so please pray.

Now I have to add the story about how I ended my day with another blessing and why I am still up when it is 1:15am

I have been home for a few hours we did a family devotion and everyone shared about what the Lord has been showing them about Dancho and Grandad.... these children just give me so much when I hear them share.... afterwards they went to bed and it was just Mary Kate and I. Tonite 2 yrs ago we were up all nite (MK, her sisters Molly and Jenn). Mary Kate was in labor with Ava... and we were her birth team. MK and I were reflecting about it all and what a joy Ava is.... Then MK began to cry and shared how grateful she was for me and all I have done for her and Ava.... She went on but I won't share the details or my pride will get the best of me :) Then she asked me when Keith and her do get married would I be her matron of honor... she could think of no one else who had influenced her life more for Christ than me..... Both of us are crying now.... I want to share her story sometime and promise to soon... but I have seen the Lord restore her life and her heart from a very abusive and painful relationship that did give us the blessing of Ava. Mary Kate is not the woman she was 2 yrs ago... It is such an awesome thing to see the Lord at work in someones life... especially if it is one you already love. Thank you Jesus for encouraging me and giving me rest and joy today.... I have felt your presence in my life in very real and tangible ways today. You are a personal Lord and you touched me in everyway and place I needed to feel your loving spirit......

Did you ever have a day where you have been blessed and you do not want the day to end....

Today has been that sort of day for me.... We went to church and we have been given a gift of a body of believers who love the Lord and serve Him . We hear the Bible preached in a life giving way and all of our very large family are ministered to.... Then it was home and Joseph, Leah, Olivia and myself went to visit my dad at the rehab. home he has been in now for over 2 weeks after having left the hospital stay of almost that amount of time. It has been a difficult holiday season but also a precious one too. It has been difficult watching my "daddy" become so ill and so critically depressed because of his life that will soon end . He is 87 and has congestive heart failure, ulcers on the whole bottom of his legs that have caused him to initially be hospitalized because they thought he had MRSA ( he did not)... It is about an hour and a half drive to get to visit him and my 2 brothers have been managing most of his care because they live closer to him. My dad will no longer be able to live alone and so we have to decide what to do next for him.. We will not put him in nursing home- I have worked in some of the best and to be honest they are a horrible place to end your life . Even with the "best" of care. I do not really desire to share what has gone on for my dad at this facility in just the short 2 weeks he's been there but it has been a passive sort of hell for us to watch .... I have struggled with many issues since all of this and it was causing me not to sleep.... I love my dad very much and want to be there for him. However I can't be down there all the time... I journal and have now for 25 yrs... if you read my journals they contain some daily happenings but mostly my encounters with my Lord and Savior. They are filled with prayers and scriptures of encouragement and challenges. Lately I have asked and been given many..... but still I struggled. We have also been praying about adopting another child.... a little boy who is blind in Bulgaria. We have no money to do this adoption but we never have... and the Lord has always provided. Then you add the emotions of caring for my dad and wanting to adopt Dancho. We have been given some encouragement to proceed with his adoption..

I also was wondering about my dad's salvation. For me this is an issue that has caused great stress and loss of sleep. I know my mom gave her life to the Lord and I have a peace about her in heaven . My dad I was not sure about... If we can ever be a judge of anothers salvation- This is not what I was desiring to do. Just an encouragement that he has had a relationship with the Lord.

Well today when we got to my dad... I knew the Lord was present... there was something different. We were there for 4 hrs and had a wonderful visit. He looks better and his legs are not draining and his spirits were more positive. Friends of ours and my dad came- the Luthers. I can not share enough about what a gift this family has been to ours thru the yrs.. for without this relationship we never would have been encouraged to adopt from Russia in the first place.... they were the ones who were with my mom when she died. They are just strong and grounded , Christian friends ... We were talking with my dad and Luther asked him if he was saved and my dad said yes and shared how he was baptized at the Baptist church in Rainelle, WV... I knew he had once been an elder in that church but to be honest he had gotten so bitter I was not sure if he had a personal relationship with Jesus. His bitterness came from years of watching the negative , hurtful behavior of christians in the churches he had attended.... God revealed to me that my precious dad had given his life to the Lord but because of the root of bitterness that came and grew like cancer it was hard to see.... I hope and pray for any of you reading this blog that you do know the Lord in a real and personal way and if you too have some bitterness to allow the Lord to heal your heart and pain. It has been sad and now very positive to see how the Lord has worked thru my father's life. We also talked about his care after he leaves the rehab. facility.... He may come to live with us and he may live at his home with my brother taking care of him or we share this priviledge.... I will have him some and Johnny will.

Now my blessing came in finding out that he is indeed saved... I have the joy and peace knowing this... Also my striving for working things out was given over to the Lord and now I am actually excited to see how the Lord is going to put all of this together... I know He will... and I will be obedient to whatever He calls us too.... I am also rejoicing in the encouragement all the children and Paul give to me to want to take care of grandad as well as to adopt Dancho. It is amazing to me their hearts for another child....

Here is my daddy with the last smile I have seen on his face in a long time... this was taken on Christmas day as we were visiting him . We had brought Abraham's piano and sang and danced for him... He loves children and it is where first I learned to love a child.... I have the best daddy ...because he was and is my daddy it has been easy for me to respond to my Lord. Thank you Jesus for my father. Please pray for him to have peace and rest and comfort.

Something that warms my heart and makes me love my kids more...

On Christmas am our new daughter, Rachel brought me her present for me.... It was a magazine.. one that I have not ever read... It was called All You. The color was a light purple and had the lavender flower on the cover as well... Lavender is my favorite flower and it was filled with very delicous sounding recipes and she proceeded to go thru the magazine showing articles and the recipes... Now she has been home 5 months and she hit it right as far as things Rachel has picked up that I like or need... the most tender moment though was when she showed me an article about how to care for your aging parents and her words were," Momma I thought this might help you with Grandad." I was brought to tears by this very sensitive daughter of mine who felt this need to encourage me in these areas of my life...