SCHOOL'S OUT!!!

Which means I get a temporary break - well sort of...

We celebrated our first year of homeschooling this past Thursday by talking and journaling about all that the girls have learned and about what this year has meant to them. It was pretty incredible to reflect on all that they had learned in six months!!! I am so proud of how hard they have worked. We have had fun too :) After our little end of year ceremony we headed to a swim party for the end of the year with our homeschool coop friends.

Here's the summary that I made for them.

What we have Accomplished in
6 months!!!!!


Ø Learned to speak and understand English
Ø Completed ALL of Math 2
Ø Completed almost ALL of Math 3
Ø Learned addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts very well and began practicing division facts
Ø Learned 70 phonograms
Ø Memorized The Swing, The Secret, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Psalm 119:9, 11
Ø Wrote many pages of sentences, journals, and stories
Ø Learned over 200 spelling words
Ø Finished 2 Levels of Rosetta Stone
Ø Finished 3 Explode the Code Books!!!
Ø Learned to read in English and completed many books
Ø Learned about 7 contintents and read books about countries all over the world
Ø Learned about the beginning of the United States, Christopher Columbus, Pilgrims & Indians, Thanksgiving, our United States Flag, The Pledge of Allegiance, 50 States
Ø Learned a lot more about who God is and how He loves you and read many parts of the Bible.
Ø Learned so much of life and love and family


…And I have learned what fun it is to be your teacher!!!! I love you girls and am so proud of your hard work. You are both so smart but more importantly you have sweet, kind hearts, you listen to us, you admit when you do something wrong, you work hard, and you ask God to help you by praying and seeking Him by reading the Bible. If you continue in this, then you will have learned the most important of lessons. I love being your teacher and I love being your mom!!

Let’s have a GREAT summer!!!!

We finished with me recording the girls reciting their memory work and presenting some certificates to them. They have truly done an outstanding job!!!

Here are two videos of the girls memory work - they are short but make sure you pause the music on the right.

We will completely break for a week and then do a little math, english, and lots of reading each day that nothing more exciting is going on :) Yea for summer!!!

Happy 13th Birthday Kateryna!!!

And 1st Birthday Home!!!

What a special, sweet day it was. Katya has been anticipating this day since she got home. This morning our birthday princess was awakened to a birthday cake with 13 candles and her entire family singing Happy Birthday. She smiled ear to ear and blew out her candles. She was then led into the living room which had been decorated with pink crepe paper, balloons, and princess plates for the cake. We ate breakfast and she was literally giddy :) Then she opened the presents from Zach and me. She received a Princess Belle dress (she just loves Disney princesses and wanted this even though most girls her age might have already tired of princess stuff, but for her this is the first time to have these type of things). Then for her big present - an IPOD loaded with all her favorite songs. She was beyond delighted and just couldn't stop hugging and kissing us and telling us thank you. Every new song that she discovered was a delight - 1000 Miles by Mark Shultz is her dance song for ballet and she was so happy to have it along with the Sound of Music soundtrack and lots of other favorite songs.

After she got dressed (as Princess Belle) for the day, she came out and gave me a tight hug and told me in a choked voice, "Momma thank you, for you and Daddy doing all this for me. In Ukraine, I never had birthday like this. It is soooo good day!! I LOVE you soooo much!" I tried to include her cute grammar for you - throw in a strong accent and you'll hear her too :)

Sweet girl, it is such a joy to see you feeling loved and cherished and to know how precious you are. You are truly wonderfully made and we are so very thankful that God made you our daughter... What a privilege to be able to celebrate the life of our daughter and to show her that she is precious and special and cherished. How I longed to be able to show her this in the year before we came home and how amazing to see how she really gets it now and readily accepts our love.

Okay so I did go ahead and make them do a fairly full school day with a little extra free time to listen to her music and just relax. I even took a nap because birthdays wear mothers out!!

Then I braved the cooking of BORSCHT!!! This was waaaay harder than I thought but only because you have to grate like a hundred vegetables. And I really hate to cut up veges. Had I realized this, I would have borrowed my mom's food processor but oh well - I now have beet stained hands and really had the borscht experience. The greatest part about it was that it turned out good!!! The girls gave it their official approval and ate two bowls a piece! Our other kids liked it too and I thought it was okay. (I loved Ukraine food but this was never my favorite.) Wow - big accomplishment to meet their borscht approval rating - I don't think they had a lot of confidence in my abilities going into it!! (If you want the recipe I used let me know - I borrowed it off another blog.)

Finally we ate and said a few of our favorite things about Katya. She is: Sharing, kind, sweet spirited, very helpful with a joyful spirit, energetic, loving, has a beautiful smile, is a great dancer, and a wonderful sister. The kids all had presents for her and she was so overwhelmed with all the love and gifts that I saw that she was holding back tears and clearly moved by such love towards her. What a wonderful sight to see.

We thank God for creating Katya just the way He has and for placing her in our family. He truly has protected and guarded her and brought her to us. We are blessed to be her parents.

We love you Kateryna!!

Last note....I am in complete denial that I am now the mother of a teenager. Goodness, wasn't I just a teenager not that long ago? Well that is another post, ha! :) But seriously, that does make me feel old!!!

Heart Healthy

A year and a half ago (before ever hosting Nastya) we were told that she had a sister that she did not really know and this unknown sister was unadoptable and had an extremely serious heart condition. We then found out on the night that we met Nastya that her sister's name was Katya and that they had never been separated before this hosting trip. We immediately knew that if we were going to adopt one we would be adopting both. Many things about this were frightening with all the unknowns. She was quite a bit older than we ever considered and she was diagnosed with some type of heart problem that we had been told was serious. We were earnestly praying about what to do but in our minds it seemed impossible. We were unable to ever get a clear diagnosis about her heart and at one point in the waiting time (before meeting Katya) we learned that she had been sent to a sanatorium for treatment for her heart. This sounded serious!!! We were also told that she ran and played and seemed very normal. It was all very confusing. The only thing that was clear was that God was calling us to adopt these girls. We kept returning to the fact that we could absolutely trust Him. We said we did but could we put that into action? Many times I feared that we could not and the scary possibilities seemed unending from many sides. Information was hard to come by. But by His grace, we amazingly had the peace and assurance to continue on the road that He had already layed before us. We knew that if He called us to this that He would equip us for whatever lay ahead.

And that He has, although thankfully that does NOT include any sort of heart problem!!!

Today we finally had an appointment with the most wonderful pediatric cardiologist. An echocardigram was done as well as other tests. Everything looks perfectly normal!!! Can I just tell you the incredible relief that this brings to her!?! She was truly scared that she had a serious heart problem and had been told not to run too much. She is very athletic. Sometimes Katya does experience some chest pain but it is due to panic attacks (as we had now guessed as we would talk with her during these rather infrequent 'episodes'). Actually I think these panic attacks were somewhat worsened due to the fact that she thought she had something wrong with her heart. She would get stressed about something and then feel a little panicky and then panic more as she felt her heart speed up. So it will be interesting to see if this knowledge helps her to calm herself when she feels upset.

Another amazing blessing during the echocardiogram - the doctor showed us a view of her heart from the bottom and we could see the four chambers. The walls of the heart dividing the chambers look exactly like a cross!! How cool is that? The doctor went on to explain that Jesus had died on the cross for our sins and had placed a cross in our hearts to show that He desires to lives in our hearts and to show us how much He loves us. We even have a picture of Katya's cross! Praise God for such wonderful news today and for creating her so perfectly and keeping her so very healthy. And for not allowing misinformation and fears of the unknown to keep us from adopting our precious daughter. He is good!! So good and perfect that it blows my mind. His plans are always what we would choose if we could see all that He sees. And if she had turned up with a heart problem I am certain that the Lord would have provided for whatever we needed to walk down that road. For now we are thankful that is not the case.

Easter, Family, and The Sound of Music...

It was a lovely Easter weekend. We had our first mini road trip with the girls and headed north about 6 hours to Zach's parents' home. It was wonderful to spend time with them and to introduce the girls to the dairy farm. I suppressed my giggles as our previously prissy Kateryna chased chickens, watched cows being milked, stepped in cow manure, rode on a tractor with Poppy, and planted a garden with Gran. All the kids had a fabulous time but I especially was happy to see her enjoying herself and only once cringing at the smelly cow poop as I made her scrub it off her shoe :) I'm heartless! They each picked out a baby cow that they named and will get regular reports on as they grow and mature to have their own babies and become milk producers.

We also enjoyed lots of piano and guitar playing, singing, and dressing up with Gran. We have recently been watching The Sound of Music and it is the current favorite. So, Katya and Allee decided to put on a show for us. They memorized at least five songs and made up dances to go along with them. Here is a sample of the show... It was really impressive!!!! Future performance times and ticket sales will be announced soon. The girls plan to make it big time in the show business now!

Last but not least we had egg dyeing, egg hunting, a wonderful time to praise our Saviour on Sunday morning, and lots of yummy food. We are now home detoxing :) Oh, except that my Benjamin's birthday is TODAY!!! And of course the traditional birthday cake wake-up could not be left out. So it was one more day of sweets after all. But tomorrow is another day :) I plan to post about Ben's birthday on the other blog tomorrow...

Tonight, I did fit in my first run since the 5K. I am now hooked on these and plan to do another next weekend. Anyone interested?!?

Jenny, I got your post on the last blog post that I did and would love to email with you but can't figure out what your email is. Please email me at stephaneep@hotmail.com

YOU Can Help!!!

We are blessed beyond what we can describe to have our two precious girls home. I look back on the path that brought us to our girls and them to us and am awed by how God smoothed the path to bring them home. However, our time with the other children at the orphanage has left a burden on our hearts that will not be lifted. They told us to please remember them but how could they know that we can not forget.

Listen to the words of this song. Really listen. I am responsible. 143 million orphans. We are all responsible. What can we do? Can we adopt them all? No. But there is a small part that each of us is called to play in ministering to orphans as God calls us. That may be adoption or it may be mission trips or it may be supporting those who are called to adopt. Each has a part and my part now is to tell others of what I have seen and to share the burden. To speak for those who can't speak for themselves.

So how can you help?

Well, that is something to cry out to God and ask Him to reveal to you personally. I promise if you begin praying for orphans and asking God what part He wants you to play in ministering to them - He will reveal it and you will be blessed beyond measure as you join Him in loving those so precious to Him.

But here is one possibility to consider right now:

An amazing thing is taking place this coming Saturday morning. A dream is coming to fruition after many years of prayer. My sweet friends Becca and Camille have both adopted, and the two of them have had a burden for the 143 million orphans that long for a family and home and who are often in desperate conditions. These two women were both a huge support to me through the past 18 months as we moved through the adoption process, and I am blessed to have them as my friends. The three of us began meeting and praying once a week last year for the children who were orphans and about adoption. Then Camille's good friend had a vision - "why don't we put together a run to raise money to help families with the financial part of adopting!" Because as anyone who had been involved in adoption, you know that the costs are huge and are very often the largest obstacle for families who desire to bring children home.

So a Charity Team was started to organize a race. This Charity Team has partnered with G.R.A.C.E. (God Rescuing All Children Everywhere) Adoption Ministry and River Stone Community Church to make this team a reality. The more money we raise, the more families we can help fund adoptions and bring children home. The families we support apply to receive funding and go through a very thorough screening by G.R.A.C.E.’s Board Members; they are awarded funds based on need and other selection criteria.

So on Saturday morning I will be running alongside several awesome ladies including my sis. I can't wait and am excited about running in my first official run but am even more excited about the reason we are running.

If you want to help - even small amounts count and add up - here's where you go to donate:

Go to http://www.river-stone.org/raceforadoption.htm and use “add special instructions to the seller field” and please enter my name. If you want to mail a check leave me message and I will email you the address.

I have lots more to update about...more coming soon.

The Sun'll Come Out...

Well actually it is quite rainy here in Texas but we are thrilled about that - we need it :)

This has been a much better week! We've had some more medical and dental stuff but as far as the children's attitudes and behavior (but most importantly my attitude and behavior), the sun has come out. Challenging days/weeks occurred before we adopted the girls and they occur now - it is just part of parenting and life in general. But it is these times that help me to draw nearer to the Lord.

Thank you to those who prayed for us this week! We had what should be the third and last round of work to repair cavities and remove some teeth (for Nastya). And Nastya finally got the decay on her front teeth fixed and is so thrilled to have white teeth in the front now!! She has been a trooper through what has amounted to fillings and/or crowns on every tooth in her mouth and at least 6 or 7 teeth removed. Two of those had to be done under anesthesia as they were her permanent molars. The orthodonist hopes that her next set of molars and wisdom teeth will come in strong and that we can move them forward to fill in those gaps. It will be a long term plan but for the moment we will get a break from dental work.

We also got to visit the endocrinologist to address Nastya's small size and they are running a bunch of blood tests and took a ton of x-rays to determine what possibilities there may be to help her grow. We are very happy with the pediatric endocrinoligist.

So after tomorrow we have a week of Spring Break! Woo hoo! We all need the break from school and are excited about our niece's birthday party and then getting together with some sweet friends that we have not seen in two years.

Mighty To Save...

This song was a powerful reminder to me throughout our journey to bring our girls home that God could move the mountains that stood in the way of bringing our girls home, that God alone can save, that God pours our compassion and offers hope. When the journey seemed daunting or impossible I would play this song in my heart and God used it to renew my hope. And indeed we saw Him move mountains and pour out grace and compassion to bring our daughters home.


Yesterday God used this song to remind me that He is mighty to save me right now.


I will be honest. The past 10 days have been hard. The morning after writing my last post on how grateful I was, life went a little crazy: Nastya had major dental surgery, later that afternoon I was hit super hard with the stomach bug (as well as some of the kids), Zach left town for a few days for a work conference, and then we kept my sisters' two sweet kids for five days while they went on a vacation. Throw into that piles of officework that have built up for me to tackle, a dryer that just quit working, and that wonderful time to go through clothes and make a lists for what my children need for spring/summer. Did I mention that these kids keep eating and wearing clothes and needing instruction/discipline?


Then on top of the 'normal' busy stuff I had an emotionally draining few days with one of our girls. Nothing huge, but many days of correcting the same issues (over-dramatizing minor injuries, some lying to get her way, constantly asking for more stuff, and just being very pushy in general) has taken it's toll. Plus we have realized that we have not been consistent in disciplining one of the boys and have been letting issues slide. All the sudden we realized it and are needing to tighten down and make sure that we are not allowing disobedience for our own convenience - so easy to do when I am overwhelmed with other stuff. All in all I was getting really discouraged and overwhelmed...


Yesterday morning, however, the Lord reminded me not only of my need to call out to Him and to seek Him first, but also that He has compassion on me and on my children. That the same God who brought our girls home can take care of these 'little mountains' that seem to be so huge right now. God has compassion and shows kindness to me no matter how many times I mess up, and I need to have the same compassion towards my children even when it seems that I am correcting the same issues so many times. I am praying (and would appreciate your prayers for us) that I would rest in Him and that I would seek Him first so that I have His love to overflow out of me no matter how sharply or how often I am jarred.

And today was a very good day even though we haven't quite tackled the piles of officework and the laundry is PILING up - come on over fast dryer repair people!!!! Thank you Lord!

Psalm 61:2

From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.