Breakfast Picnic

We went to a park today...

for breakfast. We love our breakfast picnics;

especially the bagels.

Our favorite place for breakfast picnics is a lovely garden and pavillion nestled on the edge of a local river

Tinkerbell perched herself on the pavillion railing to enjoy breakfast.

Everyone helped to clean up, but we had knights in armor to bear the greatest burdens...

Princess Bink has two strong and handsome brothers. We hope she will soon have three!

~Lissie

God Provides!

Here's a look at cooking in our family--SUPERSIZED!!!!

First, supersized cooking begins with massive shopping! We shop by separating into four teams, filling four shopping carts to the brim and then simultaneously checking out in 4 parallel checkout lanes. Mrs. Beaver hovers nearby, poised to swipe a credit card in each checkout lane at just the right time.

Next, supersized cooking requires the use of supersized recipes! Our mighty feasts take the work of an entire team.

Cassandra led a team of willing helpers in creating this 17-pound, quadrupled lasagna masterpiece! This family of 11 is learning to cook for 14!

To provide context for the size of this gigantic pan, the smaller pan in the pictures below is a 9 x 13:

All these things considered, I almost can't believe the amount of food God provides for our family daily, but somehow He does!

God has faithfully provided food and other necessaries for us since we first began our adoption journey. From this we should believe that He is willing and able to provide all we need as we continue the journey. It's tempting to worry as new trials confront us, such as waiting to see what changes the Russian and American governments will impose on adoptions. However, God has an abundant track record of caring for our needs, and His past provision will comfort us in the days, months, and years ahead.

"Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you."
- Ps 116:7

- Joe

Dear God

Six weeks after our second Russian trio joined our family, we recorded a video of Tinkerbell and Gigglebox praying in their new language. We saw God's hand in how fast they were able to pick up English and become adjusted to our family. Notice Gigglebox peeking at her desert partway through the prayer, and also their beautiful accent (The prayer is, "Dear God, thank you for this food. In Jesus' name, Amen).

The second video is Princess Bink repeating a prayer after Dad. Well, sort of. Her language skills were minimal in both Russian and English at that point, but one thing is obvious-she sure thought that chocolate pudding pop looked good!

I can't wait to hear my new siblings pray to the Father of the Fatherless in their new language.

--Lissie

Happy People

Earlier this month our family had the opportunity to spend two days with a group of people who were among the warmest, friendliest and happiest we've ever encountered. We couldn't stop talking about it as we drove off. Now, we've certainly been with smaller groups of people that deserved a similar description, but this was a group of more than 1,300!

Why did this group radiate joy? I've pondered that question since leaving "Summit VI," a conference hosted by the Christian Alliance for Orphans (http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=668) in Minneapolis. I think I may have found a clue in Isaiah 58. There God lays out for His people what the ESV Study Bible calls the "practical implications of biblical faith" (pg. 1346). He insists that the Israelites' relationship with Him is not to be heralded by empty fasting. Instead, their encounter with Him through fasting is to result in a life of service to those whom Jesus would call "the least of these."

The Lord says,
"Is this not the fast that I choose,
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"

What comes next in this passage is a truly remarkable list of God's promises for those whose relationship with Him is turned outward in service to others, interspersed with some additional calls to forsake sin and meet the needs of the vulnerable:

"Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail." (8-11)

What a list! Healing, strength, defense against depression, answer to prayer, protection, never-ending guidance, and the list goes on...

I believe the people we interacted with at Summit VI are happy people because they have experienced God's glorious promises as they "pour themselves out" to meet the pressing needs of fatherless children. Their light is "breaking forth like the dawn" because they have experienced the care of the Father of the Fatherless as they care for orphans. These people, who live sacrificially, have discovered a great irony of our God--in giving, we gain.

--Mrs. Beaver

Pray for the Orphans

Dear Readers,

This is a plea for prayer cover for the May 12 meeting of the Russian and American governments regarding the status of American adoption of Russian orphans.

Background
As you may know, a few weeks ago an American adoptive parent placed her adopted Russian son on a plane unattended and sent him back to Russia with a note saying she was returning him. The Russian government was naturally outraged, and has demanded more rights to protect Russian adoptees. They have threatened to completely halt American adoptions if their demands are not met.

On May 1 they submitted a draft agreement to the US State Department in preparation for face-to-face negotiations on May 12. While that meeting is not likely to be the final meeting on the subject, the tenor and outcome of that meeting is very important. If Russian negotiators do not see substantial progress in the discussions, they may recommend suspension of all American adoptions indefinitely.

Prayer Request
We covet your prayers for the negotiators to have the mind of Christ in their discussions, even if they do not know Him personally. We ask that you would pray for them to place the best interests of the children above their own political interests. We ask that you would pray for them to allow adoptions to continue, acknowledging the far greater good that has resulted from these adoptions than the evil associated with a few cases. Finally, we ask that you would join us in praying specifically for our 3 children, as the oldest could get caught in their system if the issue isn’t resolved before her 16th birthday.

- Mr. Beaver

You have now been summoned to give up your fingerprints

I opened the mailbox this afternoon to find a large stack of mail. Now, this wasn't just a somewhat sizeable amount of mail, this was truly a Goliath-sized delivery. However, my hair was in my face from a strong spring wind, so without identifying what the stack contained, I grabbed it and ran. I clutched the pile tightly as I hurried down the driveway, knowing that if the mail slipped out of my arms it would probably end up a state away before it stopped.

Examination of the mail soon revealed that something more exciting than bills had been delivered. Ten crisp envelopes bore the seal of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services, and the contents invited the five adult members of our family to a fingerprinting appointment in early June. Yes, each of us received two letters, although I'm not sure why. Maybe they sent an invitation for each hand, although in that case I'm not sure what you would do if you only got one letter.

As each day passes, we long more and more to bring our siblings home. How can you miss someone you've never met? I don't know, but I do know that we love and miss our three precious siblings still in Russia. We eagerly await the day they come home. This fingerprinting will bring us one babystep closer to that day, and a large mailstack could never have been more welcome.


~Lissie

I Hated Mother's Day

As we went through month after month followed by year after year of infertility, I grew to hate one day above all others--Mother's Day. Going to church on that day was the worst part...smiling moms proudly cradling beautiful babies...the pastor's inevitable call for the mothers in the congregation to stand following his reminder to the congregation of the nobility of the role of motherhood in God's plan for His people...my own broken dream searing my heart as the other women in the church stood while I remained rooted to the cold, hard pew. I hated Mother's Day.

Who would have ever guessed that someone who faced such desolation and hopelessness would wake tomorrow with the happy realization that she's the mother of nine and will soon, Lord willing, be the mother of TWELVE?!? And nearly 20 years into being a mother, I love, love, LOVE my role as a mom even more than I thought I would during those difficult years of waiting.

I'm so grateful to God that he did eventually allow me the opportunity to experience pregnancy and even give birth to twins. But I'm equally grateful that the Lord has placed another 10 children in our lives through adoption. I never would have chosen this path without the blessing of infertility. Yes, I now think of our infertility as a blessing. From barrenness to bounty, my life is the story of God's plan being better than my own.

"He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!" ~Psalm 113:9

~Mrs. Beaver

Transformation

This week we celebrated Jaynie's 17th birthday. Jaynie is the oldest of the six children we've thus far adopted from Russia. She is the oldest of the trio of siblings we adopted nearly nine years ago. She was eight when first met her in her orphanage, and, in all honesty, she kind of scared us. She was a street child through and through. She was tough. She was hard. She was self-assured. She was distant. She was challenging to correct. She was anything but a girly-girl.

As we entered into that first Russian adoption we knew enough to understand why Jaynie had a demeanor worthy of the label "Ice Princess." This little eight year old had already lived through more suffering than most adults ever endure. Jaynie and her siblings had been so neglected by their parents that they'd lived under a bridge for a time with her as their leader. When Jaynie entered our family her torso was ridged with stretch marks that told the story of hunger so profound that her belly had at some point protruded. A grandmother that Jaynie and her siblings loved had been forced to take them to an orphanage because her health was too poor to care for the three young children. However, that same grandmother felt capable of caring for two older siblings so our trio was forever separated from their sister and brother who remain in Russia. Upon entering the orphanage, Jaynie had had to have her head shaved to eliminate the lice that made her scalp their home.

As we entered that first adoption of a trio of Russian siblings, we also knew enough about our God to know that He was capable of tranforming a life. This week with our celebration of Jaynie's 17th, we joyfully acknowledge that He has done just that (despite our weaknesses as her parents!).

Truly, you'd never recognize Jaynie as the same child. She no longer holds people at a distance but instead approaches others with a wide open heart. She has a special gift with young children and collects groups of them like a Pied Piper. She not only enjoys people but she yearns to help others. When someone is new to a group, she rushes to make sure they are included. The little girl who once bristled at the slightest effort to change her behavior now yields to our correction. She is delightfully feminine, but most importantly her beauty is as much inside as it is out as she grows in her desire to spend time in God's word and yield to Him as He molds her into the image of His son.

We're so proud to be her parents!

--Mrs. Beaver

Celebrating 5 Years

April 28 was the 5 year anniversary of Tinkerbell, Gigglebox, and Princess Bink's homecoming. So, while we were in Minneapolis for the conference, we decided to celebrate.

Dad and Mom took us to the Mall of America, and we did something fun, crazy, and out of the ordinary- we rode a roller coaster!

Before the ride-Jaynie, wondering if this was a crazy idea.

This was the wild kind of roller coaster, the kind that goes straight up and then drops so suddenly you wonder where you left your stomach. This also happened to be the kind that went upside down several times and the kind through which Tessa screams her loudest (I know, because I was sitting next to her). This was the first roller coaster any of our Russians (from Jaynie down) had ever experienced, and although they emerged a little pale and dizzy, they loved it and still can't stop talking about it!

Princess Bink didn't quite make the height requirements for the first roller coaster, but she still had her chance. After the older members of the family had staggered away from the wild ride, she and Mom boarded another roller coaster. Princess Bink's face as they rode round and round was one of amazement, nervousness, and delight.

Princess Bink, tense and unsure of whether she approved. Mom? Having a great time. That picture is visible proof of how blessed we kids are-our mom knows how to have fun. She's the best!

We can't imagine life without our girls. They are happy, creative, and loving. They are each other's best friends and love nothing more than to spend time with each other. Tinkerbell and Gigglebox love to read and often consume a chapterbook a day, and Princess Bink is becoming a better reader all the time. The girls often put on plays and puppet shows for us, create elaborate "houses" outside, and lovingly care for their dolls. Our 2nd Russian trio has a love both for Russia, their Motherland, and for America, their new home.

Tinkerbell, Gigglebox, and Princess Bink on their way home to America 5 years ago!

Thank you Lord for the way you have knit our family together.

~Lissie