Cousin Time!

Mrs. Beaver:

Today we were blessed with a visit from the kids' Texas cousins. What a happy group of kids!

Poor James (9), the youngest of the cousins, was being chased by a very determined aunt with her camera

(in other words--ME!)

  

After lunch, we went to a nearby park. Today it was perfectly spring-like here, and we all had a fabulous time. The older girls walked around the lake, while the boys and younger girls found all sorts of ways to entertain themselves. The fellowship was priceless!

After Tatiana helped her cousin scale a tree, she was inspired to give tree climbing a try.

For the 13 cousins gathered together...

...sleep will not be a problem tonight!

All of us are grateful to the Giver of All Good Gifts (James 1:17) for an afternoon of togetherness!

Desert Beauty

Mrs. Beaver:

This weekend Mr. Beaver had a business trip to Tucson. I was blessed to be able to go along. This was our first time to get away for longer than one night since we adopted the most recent trio 15 months ago. Following each of our three adoptions of older children, we have waited until the new children seem to have developed a sense of stability and security before we travel without them.

Here are some of the sights we saw. Our first clue that we weren't in the upper midwest came when palm trees flanked the drive-through lane at a fast food retaurant that southwesterners rave about.

 

View out our sliding glass door

flowers within our patio area

Flowers-of-a-sort within our patio area

These red blossoms were the hummingbirds' favorites

Another bit of gentle color with in our room's courtyard

Outside our patio area, not everything looked quite as hospitable

The entire area is dotted with saguaro cacti, their sizes varied greatly

The back of our hotel

 More to come.

Mrs. Beaver:

Give Me Jesus!

Our family loves this song!
This is not where we belong!
Take this world and give us Jesus!
We love Jesus.
We live for Jesus.
We long to serve Jesus!
Jesus is where joy is found.
Join us--find out for yourself

A Brother's Impact

Mr. Beaver and I knew our family would miss John during his trip to Ethiopia. He adds so much to who we are as a unit.

What we didn't suspect was how quickly and powerfully one of us would be impacted. Yet on the very night when we returned from the Omaha Airport and gathered at the dinner table, a poignant sentiment was quietly shared with the large group. Alexander, the 12-year-old we adopted from Russia 15 months ago, murmured, "I think...for the first time...I feel...lonely." As we all turned to gaze at Alexander, he went on, "When we're in our bedroom, we joke... When we brush our teeth, we share the same sink...we joke and laugh." He trailed off. His winsome sharing of his heart was finished.

We discovered over a decade ago, when we added our first trio of adoptees, that our existing children (Anna, Lissie and John) were instrumental in the adjustment of their new siblings. Each time since, when we've added another trio of older children to the family through adoption, the old and the new have grown close surprisingly quickly. The existing kiddos have offered immediate friendship, as well as advice, counsel, and a sense of security and comfort through the initial stages of adjustment. Alexander's statement simply reflected the profound impact John has had on his newest brother.

With a crinkle returning to his eyes, Alexander quickly returned to the perky, quirky, joy so characteristic to him. But we all really miss John and pray for His safe and quick return.

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BTW, we've heard John and the group from our church arrived safely in Ethiopia. Their trip is apparently going well, but they would be grateful for prayers for endurance, stamina and strength. They're already tired, and they have much yet that they hope to accomplish.

Off to Ethiopia!

Mr. & Mrs. Beaver:

Just two and a half weeks after Jaynie's departure from the Omaha Airport for her second visit to her Central Asian home, we were back at the same airport early this morning. This time taking John for a 10-day trip to Ethiopia!

John is traveling to that African nation with a group from our church who will visit and serve orphans. We thought John's group of 11 traveling internationally would tax the airline check-in system, but we really had no idea...

Just after the Ethiopia group arrived but before they could get organized enough to get in line, a very well-organized troop of about 25 young men from the University of Denver's hockey team stepped right up to the front of the line. We also thought John's group had a lot of luggage, but we really had no idea... The DU hockey team had enormous bags to carry all their equipment. Clearly, they were in the 'excess baggage' club! We were a bit worried about how long it would take to check them in, and wondered if their arrival on the scene would make our group late for their flight.

In any event, the long line allowed John's group to do some necessary re-packing. Below, John is working with the team leader, Russ, who traveled to Ethiopia just about a year ago when he and his wife adopted a little girl from the country. 

 The group of 11 travelers packed 22 totes full of supplies for the orphans, sacrificing their personal baggage allowance and packing all their own clothing, toiletries, etc. in small carry-ons to maximize the aid they could take for the orphans.

While the John's group waited in line, He showed Lissie his passport with his Ethiopian visa.

While they talked, they also prayed. Twins John and Lissie have spent almost every day of their lives together and are remarkably close friends. They will surely miss each other!

Fortunately, the airline ticket agents recognized the extreme backlog of travelers and invited John's group to move to the premier ticketing line. Some of the DU hockey players were gracious enough to help move our team's heavy totes! Way to go guys!

Ethiopian culture has been important to Tanya and her daughter Kaylee for years, as they also adopted two boys from Ethiopia about 5 years ago.

Unlike Kaylee who was going with her mom, Katie, whose a bit younger and pictured below was staying behind as her mom, Tess, traveled on the team. Tess' husband Jeff and their oldest son, Jack, are also traveling with the team. Katie is staying behind with her younger brother, Tommy, at their grandparents' house. Jeff and Tess are two of the nurses on the team.

Kaylee is shown below with Russ' daughter, Katie, who is also going with the team. These long-term friends planned to sit together on the long flight over!

Finally, after about an hour and a half, the team was all checked in and ready to go. We paused for a team picture, which turned out well for a group that had arisen around 4am and already weathered some of the travails of travel.

After another couple of good-byes it was time for the team to go through security and head toward their destination!

United didn't need both planes but didn't feel like moving one for a better 'photo op' for us. Oh well.

We headed back to our car with one less family member in tow.

As parents, we're in a season of adjusting. We're deeply grateful to God that that our oldest children want to serve others and are willing to live sacrificially to do so. As we've raised them, we've hoped their love of Christ would be strong enough to propel them out of our "quiver" and into a life that acknowledges the worthiness of Jesus by selflessly meeting the needs of the "least of these." Our hearts are full; our countless prayers about our children's futures are being answered in amazing ways by our great God. Our family "army" is on the move! But it's still hard to watch the nest empty out. (Sorry, mixing metaphors here!)

But we can't complain... we're still blessed to have enough children at home to nearly fill a van the size of a small county. And as grandchildren start to come along, we anticipate more than making up the difference!

We have dubbed our second 15-passenger van, the USS Iowa, in honor of the battleship Iowa.

"Haze gray and under way! Go Navy!"

In-Laws

Mrs. Beaver:

Anna and Aaron's first anniversary is just around the corner in mid-March. Their love story was recently featured on Scribbles n'Things.

Before this year passes, I want to thank God for one of the great blessings in our daughter's new life in Ohio--her in-laws. The Nix are a Christ-loving family. They've welcomed our Anna warmly. They've included Anna in their close-knit unit. Anna and Aaron go to their home once a week for dinner and a game or movie. Ric and Tina model what strong marriage looks like before the newlyweds; Aaron's parents bring the stability of having been married for more than 31 years.

Here they are at the wedding rehearsal.

All photo credits to Therese Miller and Lauren LaPlante Photography

This is one of my favoirte photos from the wedding. What a joy for the mother-of-the-bride to see her daughter's soon-to-be mother-in-law beam at her just before the ceremony!

Lighting the "unity candle" was completely sincere in this ceremony. The four parents were unified in their belief that the Lord was creating a beautiful, one-flesh, till-death-do-we-part marriage.

Toward the end of the ceremony, the four parents rose from the pews to pray over our children's union. This idea came from our friends Krista and George. George grew up in Nigeria, where a prayer by the parents is a traditional part of the ceremony.

Ric's tenderness in hugging his new daughter-in-law immediately after the ceremony was beautiful.

Unbeknownst to Tina and Aaron, I was watching their interactions during our time together. I knew from my own experience that if a man treats his mom well, there is a good chance he'll also love and honor his wife.

The affection and gentleness I saw in Aaron when he and his mom had a few moments "alone", reassured me that Anna would be cherished by him. In the past year, our new son-in-love has certainly lived up to my unscientific predictions.

Mr. Beaver and I approach Anna and Aaron's first anniversary deeply grateful to God for Aaron's parents, Ric and Tina. They've offered ongoing support to these two young marrieds. Just last night, Ric and Tina picked up Aaron and Anna following an auto accident as their car was towed. Anna's in-laws are a dream come true! And, soon, we'll share the role of grandparents with these dear people! God is good!