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.

Just Thankful Tonight

Tonight as I put each one of my children to bed I was just overcome with thankfulness for our family. For each one of these precious children. Sometimes it is such a heavy responsibility to be a mom and I see things that cause my mother's heart to worry. But then when I step back and look at what God has done and is doing in our family and the lives of each one of us, I am just at peace and so very grateful. Grateful that the Lord gave us Allee so many years ago and used her life to turn our hearts back to Him. Grateful that she is growing more mature and lovely in her character and spirit each day. We have especially seen such growth in her this year and she is just an incredible joy and delight. Grateful that we had a sweet time to talk about friends and ideals and just life as we jogged under the stars tonight.

Grateful that Nastya and Katya are here - our precious daughters forever. Grateful that they are growing and healing and that we can see God's healing hand in their lives. Grateful that they have learned English so well that Katya wrote a page long letter tonight in English and all I helped her with was spelling. Grateful that Nastya prayed that God would heal a sweet friend who was recently diagnosed with a very serious cancer. Not only did she pray for this woman but that God help her children as well. Grateful that Nastya will tomorrow have dental surgery that is very desperately needed. Her severely decayed lower molars are being removed after many consultations. And just in time - they began to abscess with infection just last week. So thankful that God kept them pain free until just before her surgery.

Grateful that my children are friends with one another. That they all interact and play together and truly love and enjoy one another. Not that they don't have their moments but they are close friends and value those relationships. We have prayed and worked to cultivate that kind of relationships as each one has been added to our family and continue to pray that these bonds would be strengths as they face struggles in their lives.

Grateful that Jadon is not too old to ask me to sing him a 'song about God' as we snuggled for bed time tonight. Grateful for the joy this sweet boy is to me.

Grateful that I still have one child who often quietly slips into my bed to snuggle in the middle of the night. Grateful for my precious, funny Benjamin who loves his mommy so much.

Grateful that I am married to my best friend who loves me at my very worst. Who serves me when I least deserve it. Who dreams and plans and prays with me.

Grateful that no matter how daunting the task sometimes seems of raising these precious children, my own perfect Father is right here with me and He more than makes up for all that I lack. I can rest in Him. Lord let there just be more of You in me and may your love continue to knit our hearts together and more and more to You.

Grateful that what seemed impossible and frightening and scary just a year ago (or for that matter just four months ago), now is an amazing reality that I wouldn't trade for the world.

Valentine Sweethearts!

Zach took three little princess to a daddy-daughter dance last Saturday night. It was themed "Daddy's Little Princess" and he made cute little invitations that he put on their pillows a few nights before the big event. They were all three just beside themselves with excitement but I think Katya was especially walking on clouds for days :) She loves all things princess and dreams of being a princess - I think it just made her feel so loved and cherished by her Daddy.

So finally the big day came and I curled hair, let them borrow a little perfume and tried on many dresses before their Zach made his entrance. He escorted his little princesses to a lovely dinner at Johnny Carinos and then off the dance.

After much negotiating and persistence, he was able to secure a ride in the horse drawn carraige, which had acutally sold out weeks in advance. They all had a lovely time and came home very tired from all that dancing :)

This week has been full of other fun Valentines parties for all the kids, making cards and cookies, and talking about what love really means. We had some great discussions about God's love for us and the differences between real love and tv love. When I first asked the girls what love is, Nastya replied, "I think love is God and family." Well that isn't too bad a definition if you ask me!!

Below we are celebrating with our sweet friends by making cookies and exchanging valentines....

Finally, Zach and I got to have a little Valentines fun ourselves. My parents kept all five kiddos last night so that we could go out to dinner and SLEEP IN this morning. I have felt like a new person today!! Thanks guys!! What a happy Valentines!

Here we are this morning (after they came home from my parents') openning valentines surprises...