Ah-ha moment.....

I was driving in the car this morning, on my way to pick up my daughter from a sleepover and I had another one of those "Ah-ha!" moments.  You know, those ones that really make it feel like God is speaking to you.... reaching out to you?  Every once in awhile, usually while I am alone and have a few moments of quiet to reflect-- which doesn't happen often with 10 kids  ;) - I have one of these revelations.

As I was driving, observing the gorgeous blue sky and smattering of clouds that we have today after many days of rain, it dawned on me.  I looked at all the cars around me, all driving somewhere, people all out doing something, and thought.....life.  This is life. Driving places, doing things, hustle and bustle, work, appointments, etc etc etc.....  This isn't what it is all about, is it God?  It isn't.  He wants us to have so much more!

I looked at that sky, and contemplated this world.  His world.  His creation.  And thought, what does He want us to do with it??  Look at all these THINGS.  Luxury cars, big houses...... nice stuff we humans have created.

Then I looked at that sky again.  AMAZING stuff HE created.

We are all on this planet, turning our own lives into such a rush and putting meaning into the meaningless.  We do it to ourselves.

What does He want for me?  For you?  What is really most important in this world?

I posted on my Facebook wall yesterday a link to another blog whose post really struck a chord in me.  It made me reflect, as I have many times before, on what we should really be living for, striving for in this life.  I urge you to read it... here

As a family, we are really trying in our own lives to figure out what God really wants for us.  Not what WE want but what HE wants.  What HE thinks is best.  Because when we live for Him, for others, is when we find the greatest joy.  The greatest contentment.  When we are living our lives to the fullest.

I wonder if all those people out there hustling and bustling around today know that??

Happy Memorial Day

To all those men and women who have served our country so bravely.....
To all the mothers and fathers who waited at home praying their babies would come back safe......
To all those who continue to serve both at home and abroad.......
We say THANK YOU! Your service and dedication do not go unrecognized.





It is easier now for me to see and appreciate all the things our country has to offer after having traveled outside the US last year. Our freedoms, our government, our luxuries. We have much to be grateful for today and every day. Very thankful that our 5 children from other lands get to experience what it means to be an American.

God Bless America.

 

 

 

Being Radical

Well we surely have had a ton of stuff going on around here the past month or so, and you know what? It just occurred to me that most of it was centered around something having to do with orphans.  I traveled back to Ukraine for a week to be with a friend as she was in the middle of her adoption, our family traveled to Atlanta for the Sacred Selections fundraiser to help raise money for a family's adoption......

Dana Carrozza from Sacred Selections with Charlotte

Bronwyn and Atticus

Such a wonderful night with thousands raised to help bring a child into a loving home!!

The Carrozzas and our five Sacred Selections children!!

and then I had the extreme privilege of attending Summit 9 in Nashville - a two day event dedicated to encouraging and educating people who want to help the orphans of this world - and got to hear some extraordinary speakers while there.

Over 2000 people at Summit 9 this year!

The Chapmans

Some amazing families and bloggers including Adeye Salem from No Greater Joy Mom blog and the Twietmeyers of Project Hopeful

David Platt speaking

In addition to that I have been helping Tim prepare and fundraise for a mission trip he and Evan are taking to Ukraine this summer to repair a home for aged out boys and teach them some life skills as well. 

And if that weren't enough, here in our own family we celebrated the one year anniversary of Charlotte and Atticus's arrival home, as well as Leo becoming an official US Citizen on the same day- May 17th!!

Whew! Yes it has been a super busy month and a half, but it has been busy with some of the things we enjoy most in this world. The plight of the orphan has really begun to take center stage in our lives. We are focusing more and more on what we can do regarding this issue- How can we educate? Encourage? Facilitate more adoptions? Help with hosting? Minister to those children still left behind?

Some might say, and have said, "But goodness haven't you done enough? I mean you HAVE adopted 6 children......"  To which I ask, what is enough exactly?  Enough according to our worldly view or enough according to Christ's view?

I was encouraged to think about this question this morning during church services when our preacher spoke on decipleship. What does it mean, what does it entail to truly be a deciple of Jesus?  Well as he pointed out, Matthew 7:19 says "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (New American Standard) So clearly, resting in our laurels is not an option. We need to always be striving to do what Jesus would have us to do, bear fruit.

While I was at Summit I had the opportunity to hear David Platt speak. His message of course was geared toward the plight of the orphan and how we, as Christians, need to be stepping up to the call to care for these children, not leaving it as someone else's problem. I had wanted to read his book Radical for a long time after hearing so many good things about it, and used this chance to buy myself a copy. As it happens, our family did a Bible study together tonight- something we instituted a few weeks ago. We usually have it on Tuesdays but since we missed this past Tuesday I figured, why not tonight? We had already completed the topic we'd been studying previously so I thought doing a chapter from Platt's book each week might be a good idea. 

His book doesn't focus on orphans but rather about Christianity in general. He challenges us to look at our faith and our actions, and see if it lines up with the Christianity of the Bible. Or does it look more like a Christianity we have defined for ourselves? One that is more comfortable, fits in with our cultural norms better? One that is less radical.

You see, I really have come to understand that this word has taken on such a negative connotation, when really it should be quite the opposite. People are considered, within the realms of Christianity, to be radical if they veer even ever so slightly away from that comfortable norm I was just speaking of.  You want to go start up a church? You are radical. You want to go do mission work for a year? How radical. You want to move to a foreign country and help orphans? That is radical. You are going to sell your home, cash in your savings and go work with the poor? Radical. 

But the question Platt tries to get us to affirm and then answer is WHY??

Why is it radical for us to want to do these things and then to go do them??

Isn't this the sort of thing Jesus lays out for us in the Bible, and if so then why is actually going and doing it so different??  So extreme??  Quite simply, it shouldn't be.  For Christians, it should be the norm.

"The satisfaction in our lives and success in the church are not found in what our culture deems most important but in radical abandonment to Jesus"~ Platt

Platt tells us about Luke 9, of the men who desired to follow Jesus and Jesus told them what they had to do...... Be willing to essentially be homeless. Don't return home to bury your loved ones, if you are to follow Me you can not look back. You can't even say goodbye to your family.  How radical.  

But that is JUST the point!  Jesus WAS radical. What He taught was radical. What we as Christians following His example are called to be is radical. We are supposed to be different. Set apart from the rest of the world. Are we doing that??

"I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable. We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves."~ Platt

You have to decide, did Jesus really mean what He said? All those things in the Bible, does God really mean them? You know, about caring for the widow and the orphan? Or when He told the rich man to sell all his possessions and come follow Him? Or when that woman who gave the very last that she had is used as an example for us....... Does He mean it?  Can we really be expected to sacrifice? To give more? To do more?

When I read these examples in the Bible and then read real life examples, I think so. Books like Francis Chan's Crazy Love or Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis. These radicals, putting it all on the line for Christ. 

But as Platt states,we try to rationalize all the Bible passages about sacrifice away. We are afraid of what it will mean for us. We are more content with our version of what we think He meant.

"And this is where we need to pause. Because we are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist Him in to a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with.  A nice, middle class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and would never ask us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our close relationships so that He receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger all together. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream."~ Platt

So as I told my kids tonight, we haven't been called to be comfortable. We have been called to live for Him. If that means stepping out of your comfort zone and doing things others consider radical, then so be it. And this means different things for every person.

But as my children grow, I want one thing to be certain, that they are always putting Him first. This is especially important for me to ingrain in them as I see my oldest getting ready to leave for college in about a year from now. What will he prioritize in his life?  Money? Prestige? Fame? Possessions?  Or living the kind of life Jesus has called us to.... Service, sacrifice, humility, abandonment to self.  

It is a hard pill to swallow for sure, and definitely one I am still not completely comfortable with. I still love nice things, love the frivolous, the luxuries that come along with a middle class American life. And I am sorry if this post sounds a bit preachy, it is way more to myself then anyone else. I have a long way to go.  But everything over the course of this past month, now culminating with the reading of this book, has really called us to re-evaluate our priorities as a family and ask "How do we really want to live this one and only life we have been given? Where do our priorities lie? What differences do we want to make before we leave this world? And what or who is driving us more, God or man?" And finally, "What kind of example do I want to be setting for my children? Do they see in me a Christ centered individual?"

Ultimately, I want Jesus to see that I was focused on Him. Being more like Him, in whatever ways I can, that is the goal.

So if our family seems a little radical to you, a little different or out there, I say good! I want us to be different, in a good way, in a Christian way. I want us to live a life that is RADICAL.

Catching Up!

Spring has finally arrived!  It is a balmy 84 degrees outside and we are loving it.  Soccer practice and games have begun. The boys weeded my vegetable garden yesterday so we can get going on growing some of our own food again.  The baby chicks we got before Easter are getting a lot bigger too.  New life is all around us!

And life has been wonderful, if not busy.  We had a great week of Spring Break this past week following a fun Easter, but now it is back to school, nose to the grindstone time!

Our kids are all continuing to adjust beautifully.  We really couldn't ask for better!  There have been a few very minor bumps in the road that naturally come along with teenagers adjusting to the newness of family and  finally having a Mom and Dad to answer to, but that is to be expected.  The Lord has blessed us with some incredible and resilient children who have come out of orphanages WAY better than I could ever have.  And as I told someone yesterday, they are all my heroes.  Truly.  To have gone through the lives they have lived and still have trust, love to give, the ability to be close and to function with siblings and parents in every day life the way they do, is nothing short of incredible.  I will say it again, we are BLESSED!

So as life has moved along I have again realized that my blog has gone by the wayside, so I wanted to give this update to show you what has been happening, and to shed a little light on the BUSY month I have ahead.

First, enjoy some pictures of what we have been up to!!

We welcomed home a good friend from Bronwyn and Leo's orphanage.  They were soooo excited to see her and she is so glad to finally be home with her Momma and Papa!!

Easter was a very fun time at our house this year!  Easter egg dying, a hunt, lots of food and of course some pretty cool baskets from the Easter Bunny  ;)

Yep 10 baskets sure is a lot to fill!!

Tim and Leo tried their hand at making borscht.... it turned out pretty well!!

Charlotte decided to try her hand, or rather foot, at kicking the soccer ball around during kids' practices....

Now that this little spitfire can walk, there is no limit to what she can do!  She is on the go, go, GO every day!!

Leo, Gideon and Grayson had fun visiting the local airport with us during one of our homeschool field trips!

And of course, we have had a few of the not so fun moments...... hospital visits, chemo at home that Mommy has to give via injection   :(     So not fun!!  But we have made it through ok.  Atticus's hair hasn't though!

He is now pretty much bald and beautiful  ;)  But he is feeling great, crawling all over the place, being very vocal and using sign language like a champ!  Evan has decided to try chewing some food too!  Amazing what that hospital food will make you do......

Heehee!!!  Loving some pizza!

So now on to what is coming up!

We have a pretty busy April going on let me tell you!

First we are off to Charleston this weekend, the kids and I, to visit some dear friends who relocated there a year ago.  Nothing like the beach!  We are going so I can bake her some yummy desserts to serve at the grand opening of her Pure Barre location off King Street!  I am so proud of her and her entrepreneurial spirit! I will be making some cookies, cupcakes and cake pops for her party.  Can't wait!!

Then, drumroll please!...........................the day after we return I am off to UKRAINE! 

 I am so excited and grateful to be going on this trip with a friend who is adopting from the same orphanage Charlotte and Atticus were in.  I am excited to go and help her with her two new sons during visits, and later perhaps return again to help on the trip home.  I can't wait to bring letters to our kids former nannies and show them how well they are doing here at home.  I am also excited to do little things like ride the bus and hit some of our old eateries, and see our good friend Natalya who helped us out so much while we were there in a strange country.

I am also excited that I am going to get to bring some things to the orphanage to help the children out, mainly diapers, toiletries, etc.  This is a very poor orphanage with limited supplies and resources, so I am taking up a monetary collection so that we can buy them a good supply of diapers while we are there. 

 If you happen to be interested in contributing to the fund, please leave me a comment or send me an email at jurowe@vnet.net

Hopefully while there I will also get to visit the orphanage Bronwyn and Leo lived at for so long.  I am hoping to be able to bring them some goodies and supplies as well.  I will be bringing pictures of the kids and letters from them to their friends left behind.  I can't wait to show those to the director so she can see how well they are doing too!!

Then...... in the beginning of May is the Orphan Summit held this year in Nashville, TN!!!  I am thrilled to be attending this for the first time ever and can't wait to hear the speakers, talk to the other adoptive parents, and learn more on not only how to parent my adopted children, but also learn more about spreading the word on orphans to others.  It will be a spectacular weekend I am sure and I can-not-wait!!!

So that is our life right now in a nutshell.  Busy and full but FUN!  And I wouldn't want it any other way.

Please pray for my upcoming trip that it might be safe and that I might be of some help while I am there.  :)

Homeschooling..... Homeschooling??? Homeschooling!!

I received this video from a friend of mine a few days ago and she asked my opinion.  I finally got around to watching most of it this morning and have to say it was very thought provoking.  Although it is a video regarding unschooling, which we do not practice, I found many of her points regarding homeschooling in general to be very valid and worth consideration.

We are, for the most part, a homeschooling family.  However, we have always said that we would school according to individual children's needs, so as a result we also have two children who attend a public charter school right now and a daughter in preschool, as well as a couple children considering "trying out" the regular school world this coming year... and a son who is soon off to college.

So my moments are continuously bombarded with school, school and more school.  Be it the teaching I am doing with my children, the independent learning my homeschooled kids are doing and that I am checking up on, the SAT prep my oldest is doing, the co-op info we are reviewing, or the homework and projects that come home to be completed by my traditionally schooled children, school is always forefront in my mind.

We are actually in the mode right now of determining whether two of our homeschooled children will attend traditional school next year because they are eager to see more of what regular school is all about.  So I had my kids watch this video with me, and listen to her points, and we discussed them.  It actually lead to a very interesting conversation.

I do not personally agree with unschooling, for various reasons, but I do love homeschooling.  I agree wholeheartedly with her when she says that homeschoolers are more likely to be "self-directed, take risks, and they don't back off."  I love knowing that in addition to our curriculum, our kids have the time and the drive to pursue things that interest them.  Whether it be taking an outside class or just learning more about an interesting topic at home, our kids have the ability to delve deeper into things they are curious about, without the time or schedule constraints of public school.

I also love that they are learning to be diligent managers of their time as well as independent learners.  They aren't being cattle prodded from one class to another, or having their learning abruptly interrupted when they are engrossed in a particularly interesting subject just because the bell rings and their time is up.  And, they are able to do most of their learning from "living books"- interesting literature which teaches the science, history, etc instead of boring, dry textbooks.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching this video and listening to her perspective.  Although I don't agree with all of it, there is definitely some food for thought here which makes it worth your time.  Namely, are we trying to cultivate a group of robots who take in information only because they are required to spit it back out on a test, not because they are genuinely interested in learning, or do we want to cultivate a generation of inquisitive, self motivated, creative individuals who know that the world is their oyster and that all the information they ever wanted to learn is just out there for the taking?  That there is more out there to learn which is worthy of learning other than what is deemed "acceptable" by our school systems?

Just a thought.  I would love to hear others' opinions too!  However, even if you wholeheartedly disagree, please keep them kind :)  And please take some time to watch the video above, at least the first 38 minutes or so.  As I said, it is very thought provoking.

A Couple Of Big Birthdays!

Well everything here has been moving right along lately, including apparently the passage of time! And today we marked that passage with not one, but TWO pretty important birthdays...... my baby Grayson turned 10 (not such a baby anymore) and I turned 40!  Yep, the Big 4-0.  It's here!

It was a momentous occasion for sure when Grayson entered our lives 10 years ago on my 30th birthday.  Ten days overdue, and a big surprise pregnancy to begin with, I had my reservations and lots of mixed feelings about sharing "my" day with the little guy.  Not to mention that my 30th birthday was spent either in pain, or recovering from being in pain.  :/

But soon after I realized how cool it is that my last biological child and I shared this special day and now I am so grateful for that bond and for being able to celebrate together!

Some of my cards from Tim and the kids and one of Grayson's cards.  Notice the saying on the one on the left?  Yeah that one is from my darling daughter  ;)

So today we each marked a big milestone.  I said goodbye to my 30's and welcomed the next decade with open arms, eager to see what life has in store for me in the future.  I pray these coming years are as full of love, friendship, blessings and adventure as the last ten.

And Grayson, well he turned double digits, which of course is HUGE, and embarked on a very big decade of life as well.  Just think for a moment how much happens to you between age 10 and 20.  A ton!  Middle school, the teen years, dating, driving, high school, friends, curfews, jobs, SAT's, sports, college....... a lot!

We celebrated together this morning by going out for breakfast together.  We prayed before our meal and thanked God for the life we have lived so far, and asked Him to continue to bless our lives richly that we might continue to walk in the path He has set for us, and that we might do good in this world.

Gray and I talked about what we thought the next years might bring, and the kind of man he is striving to be.  I gave him a card this morning telling him how much I love and cherish him and how proud I am of the young man he is becoming.  I am so grateful for that sweet boy!  He has a good heart and a kind spirit and I hope those qualities never leave him, no matter how old he grows.

So...............

Happy Birthday Grayson!!! 

and...............

Happy Birthday Me!!  

And here's to the next 40 years!  May they be even better (and go by even slower) than the last! 

 ;)

An Anniversary And A Birthday!

Well it looks like from here on out, January is going to be a big month for our family!  We had lots to celebrate this past week, and there is more to come as the weeks move on.

On January 8th we officially celebrated ONE MONTH HOME for Bronwyn and Leo!!!  The time is moving by so quickly, and already it seems like they have always been here.  It is amazing how that happens.  With each adoption I have tried to savor those last few days before the big addition, the big change to our family, just because I know the status quo won't ever be the same again.  But each time it surprises me how quickly everyone settles in, adjusts to the new normal, and starts to just get on with life again!  This time has been no different.  I think some people thought it would be different or more difficult bringing not one, but TWO teenagers home at one time.  But it has been blessedly wonderful and..... knock on wood!.... pretty easy so far!  ;)

That is due in part to their fantastic personalities.  They are both such easygoing, fun and sweet children.  They try to please most of the time, as it usually goes during that "honeymoon" phase of adoption.  But I don't think this is a phase for them.  They really are just that laid back and loving.

There have been little challenges as we get to know each other better and as they come to learn what is expected of them living in a family with a Mom and Dad to answer to and brothers and sisters to consider.  Hygiene, chores, respect, it has all been a part of the learning process.  As well as seeing where they fall academically so we can ready them for school in the fall.  But really all in all, so far so GOOD!!

I am just so thankful that these kids are home with us where they belong!  I was more worried this time around about adopting than any time before.  Mostly because of finances.  As you might remember, we decided to commit to them while we were still completing our adoption of Charlotte and Atticus in May.  The financial "How will we pull this together?"  was what stressed me out.  Starting from scratch.  But as usual, God had a plan and it was perfect.  And so 5 months later, here they were, on American soil, and they were ours!  We are really looking forward to the weeks and months ahead!

The next big celebration came in the form of a BIRTHDAY!  Little Miss Charlotte turned SIX!  Hard to believe she is a six year old in that tiny little package, but anyone who knows her personality knows she definitely has the spunk and determination to go with her years.  We kept it pretty low key for her- a party at her preschool with cupcakes, some presents and new outfits to open, and some birthday brownies to celebrate that night.  All in all it was a good day, and I think she really enjoyed herself!  Hopefully next year, when she is walking and has more friends her age, we can blow it out with a big par-tay!!  Just what Momma loves!

All ready for school in her new birthday dress!

Yeah!  My own computer!!

This girl loves some shoes!!

A tutu!!

 Then, this past Saturday she got the present she had really been wanting....... getting her ears pierced!!  She wanted to have earrings like all her older sisters, and now she does!  She did so well too, just a few seconds of crying and she was done.  Great job girlie!  They look so pretty!

 So, we have survived the month so far, and there are two more birthdays to go.  This time for the big boys of the family!  Gideon turns the big SIXTEEN this month on the 20th and then Leo turns fifteen on the 29th.  Whew!  I told you January was going to be big from now on!  Nothing like all these celebrations to ease the doldrums once the holidays are over huh?

I for one am just continuing to take time to remember my blessings. There are so many!  I am really loving being the mom to many.  They are all such a joy and I can't think of a better way to spend my time than with my family.  It is only when I get caught up in the worldly things that I forget this.  Listening to who has a new this and who is going where and who got what.... worldly stuff that I shouldn't long for anyway.... it is then that I lose my sense of purpose and contentment.  When I focus on all I have been given, THEN I am at my best as a wife and mother and then I am grateful and happy.  And these kids definitely bring me happiness!  Such joy can be found at the hands of a child-- toddler or teenager-- and that joy is the joy I am after.  Not the momentary joy of a new THING.

So with great thankfulness for all we have been given, we move into 2013 with a bang!  Onward and forward!!