Addyson and Braden turn SEVEN

Today Addyson and Braden turn SEVEN!

We got to celebrate them with family last weekend.

They wanted a beach party.

Addyson had a fish cake.

And Braden helped me create a beach cake. He loved helping!

It has been fun as they get older to get to work together on their party.

Miss Addyson lost her front tooth so she's got an especially cute smile for her birthday!

They did a great job helping with decorations too!

I printed out some pictures of them at the beach from over the years. They have both always liked it so much!

I have a hard time believing that these little cuties are already seven.

God has been so faithful. I am still overwhelmed every year on their birthday at how thankful I am that they are here. Those tiny preemies are growing and growing. I love watching their personalities continue to grow. To see their interests develop. And how they love each other. It's a pretty special thing to watch them. They are each other's biggest cheerleader - especially at school. Their relationship is so great and I love that they have each other. And I love that we get to be their parents. God's gifts and his plans are always the best.

Addyson is so sweet. And determined. That same determination that helped her survive her early days in NICU continues to shine through and push her to always do her best. She gives great hugs. She is loving learning so much in 1st grade and is starting to realize how she can read things in her world all over the place. She likes to figure things out. She is creative and organized - very mindful of when and how things are supposed to happen. She likes music and has a sweet singing voice. She loves to make and give gifts. She is a great big sister that keeps things going smoothly and makes sure everybody knows what's happening. She still has an infectious giggle that makes me smile.

Braden is so loving. He gives great snuggles and is quick to ask if I need a huggy (hug). He gently jumps into my arms from the top bunk of his bed every morning so I can carry him to his chair for breakfast. (He is getting so big and barely fitting in my lap or my arms but he is forever my little snuggler.) He doesn't love mornings. Or things that don't go according to routine. But he is working so hard to adapt to changes. He is good at math. He loves animals and knows so much about them. He loves his sisters well and is super sweet with other little kids. He is so ready for a little brother to love. He grieves and rejoices with those around him - I love his heart.

Excited to see what year number 7 brings for these twins we love so much. 

Happy Birthday Addyson and Braden!!

Karina is FOUR!

Karina turned FOUR on December 28th!! 

I'm really slow at posting but want to get it done before her siblings celebrate a birthday of their own!

Here's some pictures from her party:

The theme was matryoshka dolls (Russian nesting dolls).

This cake was really fun to make!

Her other request - pink.

So we had as much pink as possible!

She loves parties. 

We are so thankful we get to love her and celebrate her life. 

At four, Karina is growing so tall!! She seems so grown up lately. She's definitely wise beyond her years. She is proud to tell you that she is from Russia. She wants to go and do all the things. Especially whatever Addyson and Braden are doing. She thinks its so unfair that she's the little sister. 

She is full of spunk and sass. She makes our life adventurous. She almost always has something to say. She's cute and fun and I can't imagine what life would be like without her. She crawls in my lap almost every morning to snuggle and she still asks me to rock her when she gets upset. She loves unicorns, Doc McStuffins, anything sparkly, and cats. And I'm so glad she loves me.

 Thankful I get to be called mama by these three  :)

Russia Recap

This post isn't very timely. December seems both like a long time ago, and also like it was just the other day. But I do want to share with you about the recent opportunity we had to serve in Russia. I still have things bouncing around in my head looking for a place to settle. But I think I can put some words down now.

First of all, I want to be sure to let you know how thankful we are for those of you who bought cinnamon rolls, ate bierocks, prayed, or gave generously to help Ryan and I be able to go. And for the people that cared for our kids back home so well. We are so thankful for all of your support.

Ryan and I were privileged to serve with The Boaz Project once again in December. We journeyed back to the Vladimir region of Russia to love orphans and some other pretty special people God has blessed us with the opportunity to know. I was overwhelmed a few times on this trip with what great people God has plopped right in our lives. And the Russian people are very dear to our hearts. They are Karina's people so we get to love them too - and we are so thankful for the chance to get to love them in person. We really love how God is using the Boaz Project in Russia and are so thankful for the chance to be part of it.

Every time I get to put my warm boots on Russian soil I am grateful. It's not something I want to take for granted. God has used Russia and the people there to change me - over and over again. I'm not who I was when I first set foot in Russia - or even who I was the last time I was there. Thankfully, God doesn't give up on me and he continues to work in so many beautiful, complicated, exhausting ways that I can't really even explain. But I'm going to attempt to share some of them with you.

This is the Boaz team from the States we got to work with this year. 

Ryan’s sister, Tami, and her son, Seth, joined us this year!! And we made a new friend, Heidi!! David and Jim were our fearless leaders. (Jim's not pictured here but you'll see him in many of the other pictures below). We had a great time serving together. Here's a little view of our time together.

First up, shopping for gifts at Globus!! 

Then we packaged up gifts for the kids. Here are the things we got to pick out for the particular orphanage we were in charge of shopping for. Mittens, coloring books, colored pencils, toothpaste, toothbrushes. Craft projects and legos for the older kids.

Then it was time to visit orphanages!! We got to play a game with the kids at this one. Language isn't really all that important. Smiles and laughs are pretty good all over the world.

We got to tell the kids the Christmas story and how much Jesus loves them.

Each orphanage we did things a little different, depending on the kids' ages and how much time we had. But we got to tell them that God loves them, Jesus died for their sins, and the wonderful hope that we all have that we can be adopted into God's family and live at home in heaven with him someday. 

Sometimes we sang, crafted together, read books, but always played :) Most of the time we got to have tea with the kids and that was fun . . . and maybe even a little adventurous.

This is one of my very favorite memories from this trip.

I’ve never gotten to play outside with the kids at the orphanages before so this was a first. They are just the cutest all bundled up! 

This is my little buddy and his brother. 

We played and played. And then he grabbed my hand, called me mama, and led me off to slide.

I think they call most of their caregivers mama, but it still breaks my heart every single time I get that name bestowed on me. I am praying these little guys get to go home really soon to their forever mama. 

This was Ryan's sweety that day. She is so adorable!! She giggled and giggled while they played.

Wherever we went, the kids were pretty excited about their gifts!

I really love spending time with the kids in the orphanages. I'm pretty sure that I am way more blessed by my being there than they are.

God uses them to remind me of my own "toxic self-absorption." I heard those words somewhere but they so correctly explain it. They remind me to be content and to love. When I get home, I wish my house was smaller and that I had less stuff. Being in orphanages reminds me what and who Jesus cared about when he was on this earth, and often times it isn't the things pursuing the American Dream has taught me to want.

It makes me long for a day when there is no more injustice and when all will be right, but until then it burns a passion deep in my gut to do something, to try to love like Jesus did and look more and more like him.

So bit by bit I have to keep relinquishing my goals and plans and let God pick away at the selfishness and yuck that is in my heart. Thankfully he is really good at making beauty from ashes and I am amazed at the ways he has invited us in to his story. How he can use my limited abilities to accomplish something and fit me for the work he has called me to do. Re-entering routine life back at home was super hard this time, but that's also a good reminder that this world is not our home and not to get too comfortable here.

One night we were invited to eat supper in the homes of some Russian hosts. We got to enjoy this amazing feast!

And the company of some wonderful Russians who love the Lord. It was so encouraging to meet this family - an adoptive family full of kids who don't have to call an orphanage their home any more. A home full of love.

I was also encouraged on this trip to see other Russian Christians adopting and fostering. It is a prayer I get to see being answered. As much as I would have loved to be able to adopt those cute little boys I got to play in the snow with, I know that the adoption ban to Americans was no surprise to God and it does not stop his plans to love these precious children perfectly. 

We had a little time to sightsee in Vladimir. 

This is overlooking the city.

And we got to eat yummy Russian food. Ryan is enjoying some borsch.

It was so fun to spend time with friends we met last year! These people are so much more than interpreters to us. We have loved getting to know them.

We had a little time to sightsee in Moscow, shop for souvenirs (matryoshka dolls and furs), and we even got to go to the circus.

On this trip God let me experience some amazing things, but I also felt a lot of pain. Each of these orphans has a story - and it’s sad. There are various reasons that they aren’t with their biological families, and each one of those reasons is heartbreaking. They each have a mama - and she’s struggling with something (probably several somethings) but for sure with feelings of loss. They might have siblings and other family members who are hurting too. Whatever the story is, it is most definitely full of loss and pain. And yet - God has a beautiful plan for each of their lives. What Satan meant for evil, God can use for good. There is such hope in the midst of all the pain, even though sometimes it is super hard to see or feel. 

As I've been attempting to process all that happened on this trip, the verse that the Holy Spirit keeps bringing to mind is Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” There are just so many things in this world that I do not understand. Lots of pain that seems totally unfair. But God asks me to trust him anyway with my whole heart. He never promises that he will explain why, but he promises that we can trust him and what he’s doing even when it makes no sense to us. He knows the reasons for the pain and the plan to love through it. He doesn’t need me to figure it out, to make sense of it all. He wants me to trust him.

So thankful we trusted him about the idea of adoption he tapped us on the shoulder about, and beyond blessed that not only did we gain an awesome daughter but we also got the chance to experience and love Russia and its people too. And to understand much more about God and his love for each of us.