And He Huffed and He Puffed...

Mrs. R:

On January 1st, we celebrated John's birthday. As the lights were dimmed in the kitchen, and John's dad began lighting the candles, I realized I had forgotten to grab my camera. I went running. As I dashed back, John was patiently waiting for me with Nathaniel at his side.

We were surprised at what an inferno the cake had quickly become!

John gave his best effort to put the flames out. However, the trick candles had a mind of their own...

...and the kitchen began to fill with smoke!

John gave blowing out the candles another try....

 ...but the flames refused to die.

John's siblings begged for the chance to blow out the flames. Despite their multi-person effort, the candles blazed away.

John then decided the best hope for actually getting to eat Christina's rich, chocolaty creation was to take the candles off the cake and drop them in a nearby glass of water. However, he quickly figured out that the cake was too hot to get near.

Dad stepped in with tongs to give the stubborn candles a wet finale. Who new just 23 candles could cause such drama -- and so much laughter? We finished John's birthday with ample servings of smoked chocolate cake!

Birthday Thanks to Our Twins {The Role Siblings Play in Adoption}

Mrs. R:

Happy 23rd, John and Alison! Our family has been wildly blessed by the two of you in ways too numerous to count. 

However, on your special day, I want to acknowledge a role you have played in our unusual extra-large bio-adoptive family. You two are the only ones who weren't added to our family through adoption. As the biological children, you could have tried to claim a special place in your parents' hearts. At times it would have been easy to mock or demean your other 10 siblings. But you haven't--ever. As your older sister, Anna, met her birth parents after she turned 18, you were in her corner cheering her on and praying for her.

In addition, each of the three times we adopted three children from Russia, you demonstrated the constancy, patience, love and encouragement your new siblings needed so much to adapt to their new lives in America. You lived sacrificial love like no one outside our family could possibly fathom. And you did so without a word of complaint. In fact, each time we considered adoption, you were in the forefront of the crowd encouraging us. You saw children who needed a family and helped give us the fortitude to take the steps of faith needed to be that family for them. And then you followed up with day-in, day-out love and support for them as they adjusted. You lived Christ-like love before you knew much about the theology of it. 

This time around I'm only posting photos from our first adoption of a trio of siblings, but each of these pictures is worth 1,000 words. These photos were taken in the first six months after the adoption of Zhenya, Sarah and Matthew. Despite the short time your new sisters and brother had been your siblings, their security in your all-embracing love shows in their eyes and their smiles. Although there are no photos here from the adoptions of your other six siblings, the story is the same. Your sacrificial love made an incredible impact from the start and, your dad and I firmly believe, has been a key factor in the reason they are all progressing so well years after their adoptions.

Thank you, twins, for making all the difference in the world.

With much love,

Mom

Alison (rear) age nine and Zhenya age eight -- December 2001

Matthew age six and John age nine -- December 2001

Matthew age six and Alison age nine -- Christmas Day 2001

Matt age six and John age 10 -- Spring 2002

Sarah age 7 Alison age 10 and Zhenya age 8 -- Easter 2002

Zhenya age 8 and Alison age 10 -- Spring 2002

2014 in Photos

Mrs. R:

The much beloved 23rd Psalm says, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life." This truth about God's care of His children has most certainly been true for Mr. R and me for more than 31 years, and 2014 was no exception. The year wasn't devoid of some very hard times (posts for another time...perhaps). During those trials, God has been with us. Isn't it glorious that one of Jesus' names is Emmanuel which means "God with us"? That promise of intimate help and love is mind boggling! 

On New Year's Eve, I can't help but look at our collection of photos from 2014 and stand in awe of the Lord's goodness. Each and every one of these photos is a clear, sharp reminder of God's faithfulness and lovingkindness to our family in 2014.

I'll finish with a sneak peak at our newest family member, Bella, just moments after we brought her home to some happy kiddos...

...and with a couple of shots which Sarah has sent us from Zambia where she absolutely loves working with the orphanage's 28 fatherless children.

God is faithful!

There's No Play Like Snow Play

Mrs. R:

Christmas follows so quickly on the heals of Thanksgiving that I haven't yet finished the posts I'd like to do to celebrate God's goodness to our family during the week of Thanksgiving.

So here are more of the photos from our family reunion.

Each morning during our week together, we carried out our family's daily practice of reading a Psalm and the chapter of Proverbs corresponding with the day of the month. When we finished, our youngest children and our oldest grandchildren, wanted to go outside to play on our swing set. The temperature was remarkably mild for our nearly polar region in the upper Midwest in late November. However, significant bundling was still required.

Thus our oldest daughter, Anna, set to work layering clothes on her second daughter, 14-month-old Evelyn.

After a bit of happy wrestling, the jacket was on and the zipper conquered.

Now it was time for the gloves. Yes, gloves. I can almost hear the gasps of our readers who are mothers. Getting a toddler into gloves is a task of equal challenge to balancing the national budget. Anna good-naturedly tried...

...and tried...

...and tried while Evelyn quietly and patiently endured her momma trying to get those chubby little fingers to cooperate.

But the attempt to get gloves on Evelyn was eventually given up. Now I can hear many of our readers signing an compassionate, "Done that, been there." Gloves and toddlers just don't go together!

Evelyn's daddy, Aaron, swooped his little one up for an outdoor adventure.

However, Evelyn was fading by this tine and ready for her morning nap.

However, her Auntie Eliana was full of pent-up energy. Thankfully, our 10-year-old had her sister, Hope, as well as Aaron and Anna's other daughter, Brielle, with who to explore the great outdoors.

With Faith

Here's another glimpse of the multi-faceted jewel that our Thanksgiving week was. Here 14-year-old Faith helps her nephew, William, slip off to sleep once he was all-decked-out in his pajamas one evening. William's many aunts and uncles were each exceedingly glad when it was finally their turn to hold the seven-week-old little guy.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Mrs. R:

As we begin to wrap up preparations for the celebration of Christ's birth on Christmas, Mr. R. and I continue to thank God for our family's WONDERFUL Thanksgiving. For a full week, we had all of our children and grandchildren in our home (with the exception of Sarah who is serving in an orphanage in Zambia). We experienced the most glorious fellowship. I took this photo on one of the evenings as some of that rich love and laughter was taking place in the kitchen.

Keith & Kristyn Getty, Moya Brennan - A Mother's Prayer

Wrestling...

Mrs. R:

The test of salvation isn't whether I can live well...but rather, can I die. Can I give up my desires to my King...can I serve happily wherever He places me? My well being isn't the question. The question is: Am I willing to do Kingdom work even where I'd rather not? Am I willing to trust God for His enabling grace to serve in the hardest place in which He could put me? Am I willing to trust God that He is good? Am I willing to trust God that He is GOOD and does good? Am I willing to trust God when He says in the Bible that He loves me? Because, if I trust Him on these points, then I can joyfully concede that the hardest situation in which the Lord could place me is for my good. Ultimately, I will be blessed and He will be glorified.

Am I willing to trust God when He says repeatedly in His word that He will carry the load?