The Wonder of Water Play on a Hot Day

During Anna's overdue wait, we passed one day by going to a nearby splash pad. A free treat for the little girls.

Eliana and Hope had wanted to cool off on the splash pad with Brielle and Evelyn, but the age limit was 8 years old. So instead, they sat with their sister and watched their nieces' fun.

After plenty of time for joyful squeals as they kept cool, Anna dried them off for ICE CREAM...Cincinatti's own "Graeter's". Seriously YUM!

Our splash pad adventure was rated a success by us all!

A Sweet day Day to Celebrate

Today was a very happy one for our family. Anna, who's in a wedding here this weekend, flew in for a long weekend.

She couldn't bring the whole family, but she brought the newest member of our tribe, six-week-old Jillian. The little one had quite a fan club meet her at the airport!

And here was Jillian's reaction to meeting her many aunties and uncles as her Uncle Matthew held her still tiny hand.

Jillian's Auntie Zhenya (on the left), who held her so often during her first week of life when the two of us flew out to help Anna and her family, was immediately able to coax smiles out of her niece.

Uncle Matthew was the first to get to hold this precious gift from God.

As soon as Jillian was born I felt certain that this third girl in Aaron and Anna's family was going to have blue eyes like her sisters. Getting to see this grandtreasure again served only to confirm my suspicion. Such blue eyes, just like her daddy!

Not all of us were able to make the two-hour trip to the airport. Sarah, who has her own cake making business, is supplying cupcakes for the wedding of the family friend who is getting married this weekend. Here she's creating the candy ornaments with which she'll decorate each of the cupcakes.

These aren't just any cupcakes, however. These are cupcakes with a sweet purpose. The money Sarah earns from this job will go straight into the fund she is building to return to Zambia, Lord willing. She hopes to go back to the Kazembe orphanage in 2016 to work for a couple of years this time around.

I just want to finish this post by saying that this day was overflowing with yummy family time, including the joy of watching our children meet their newest niece. The day was extra sweet because 32 years ago today, Mr R proposed to me (and I immediately said YES!!!). We are both profoundly grateful to God for allowing us the wonder of walking the narrow road TOGETHER. There have been so many twists we never expected on July 30, 1983 when we agreed to marry one another.

The first upheaval to our dream life was not just infertility but barrenness. Multiple fertility specialists told us we would NEVER get pregnant. That news turned us toward adoption. And God blessed us above and beyond anything we would have dared to hope for by placing Anna in our arms within a few hours of her birth. Oh, how we thank God for the courage of her birthmother to go through with her pregnancy rather than aborting Anna! And, as it turns out, Anna has been the perfect leader of her 11 siblings. She loves Jesus deeply and seeks to serve Him. She is a blessed influence on the rest of her sisters and brothers. God's plan was so much better than our dream! What a glorious 32 years our journey has been, and today was a sweet day to celebrate.

Worth the Pain -- Mommy and Baby Finally "Meet"

Very soon I'll share the story of the remarkable events -- showered in God's loving grace -- that led to the birth of little Jillian.While you wait, dear reader, I wanted to offer this preview of the glorious gift of a third child that God has granted our oldest daughter, Anna, and her husband, Aaron.

A Visit from the Midwife

Anna had just finished showering when her midwife came by for a routine visit. One of the beauties of a home birth is that the health care professional comes to your home. Anna is quite tender all over at nine days late. I'm pretty sure she's happy to not have to leave her nest to visit a doctor's office.

A Crowded Lap...A Crowded Heart

Waiting is hard.
No one likes to wait.
Waiting tries one's patience.

All of these statements are true even if one is simply waiting for a doctor's appointment. The intensity of the wait increases exponentially when you're pregnant and your due date seems like nothing more than a foggy memory. Anna is now a full eight days late. She has had contractions off and on, sometimes even for a few hours at a time. However, each time the contractions simply fizzle out. Hope rises with each episode and then deflates like a balloon. Anna has so many questions right now:

When?

When??

When???

How fast will this third little girl come?

Will my midwife, doula and birth photographer be able to get here in time?

Will I have the strength to do what I must do for the poetry of my daughter's life to begin?

Will there be complications?

Will our much-dreamed of baby girl be healthy?

When...how???

What is she doing with these questions and many more rummaging around in her soul trying to disquiet her spirit? She's tells us she fighting as she waits. She is fighting uncertainty with Truth. She is preaching to herself:

God is good and He does good. God loves me. In fact, He loves me so much that He sacrificed His son on the cross in order to pay the penalty for my sins. Through this act, God forever demonstrated that He is for me. This baby is His creation and her little life is in His hands. The timing of her birth is in His hands. He alone is in control -- just as it should be. I know her life is in God's hands. The safety of both of me and this baby I love so much is up to Him. He is ever-faithful. His is worthy of our trust, even when I don't understand His ways...especially when I don't understand His ways. That is, after all, is the very essence of faith. O, Lord, please increase my faith.

I will update you, dear readers, as this story continues to unfold. We would be grateful for your prayers. Although this has been a wonderfully "routine" pregnancy, there really is no such thing. Each pregnancy is its own journey...and the stakes are high every time.

Nap Anyone?

Zhenya and I have come to stay with Anna and Aaron to help with the little girls until Anna gives birth to daughter Number 3. (She was due on Sunday, June 7.) I snatched a few photos of Brielle as she laid down for her nap today. I'm a VERY happy grandmother!

Will Her Eyes Be Blue?

Back in April, we shared the news that our oldest daughter, Anna, is expecting again.

Aaron and Anna's third daughter is due THIS SUNDAY, June 7. At 39 weeks along, Anna is doing very well, and we thank God for the good health of both mother and baby! Aaron and Anna are planning a home delivery, Lord willing. In addition to a midwife, a doula will also attend the birth. Once they're certain Anna is in labor, they'll alert us. Then Zhenya and I will start our travel to Ohio. The tradition in our family is that the oldest daughter still living at home gets to accompany me when a new baby is born. Thus this time, it's Zhenya's turn.

When Evelyn was born, Alison traveled with me. We were so very blessed to arrive a mere 45 minutes after Evelyn's birth. I wonder what the Lord has in store this time...

Anna and Aaron are so eager to meet their little girl, as are all of us. As the time draws near for the baby girl's birth, we're wondering things like, "Will she have blue eyes and fair hair like both of her older sisters? Or is there any chance this little pixie will get her mama's dark chocolate brown eyes and thick brown hair?"

I'll keep you posted, readers, as the Lord ushers our next family member into this world. We would be grateful if you'd pray for the safety of Anna and the baby.

Brielle (top) and Evelyn, both at about 20 months old, with their oh-so blue eyes:

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.

Helping {well...sort of}

Mrs. R:

I tried to take a nap today, but found that I was too full of the joy of the Lord to do so. I couldn't stop thinking just how blessed I am. After being told by multiple doctors that we would never have children, the Lord has given Mr. R and me TWELVE. And now multiple grandchildren are increasing our joy!

Since I couldn't sleep this afternoon, I browsed through photos, my favorite form of "evidence" of the Lord's goodness in my life. These photos which I took during a late summer visit to Aaron and Anna's house sure got me smiling. While we were there to celebrate Evelyn's first birthday, Anna tried her best to sort through her girls' clothing and put outgrown pieces away. She had two ready helpers!

At another time during our trip I caught a very curious toddler "helping" her daddy when he stepped away from his computer ever so briefly.

Ahhhhh...our children and grandchildren are such treasures! They keep me smiling and rejoicing in God's abundant lovingkindness!

Sister Love

Eric and Alison's first child, William, at about 18 hours old. He's being loved on by his Auntie Anna, Alison's older sister. Anna flew to New England from Ohio to help the new parents make the tremendous adjustment to adding their first new family member. Anna's husband, Aaron, was remarkably kind in giving our family the "gift of Anna" on this landmark occasion. He took four days off from work to stay home and watch their one- and two-year-old daughters.

An Exceptionally Happy Moment

Denise:

This week has held so many joys for this grandmother. One of the reasons for my bliss has been having Alison's older sister, Anna, here for the birth of the family's newest addition. Anna's husband, Aaron, kindly offered to take four days off from work to care for their little girls. Even though her daughters are in such capable hands, Anna has really missed the duo. Thanks to today's technology, however, she has been able to "see" them several times a day. Here two-year-old Brielle had just enthusiastically chirped, "Hi, Mommy!" upon seeing seeing her mama as Anna held her nephew in Alison's hospital room.

Happy Birthday, Anna!

Before I post any photos, I want to share the thought that runs through my mind over and over this time of year. I thank God for our Anna's birthmother. When she found herself pregnant, she was a young, vulnerable woman. She lived in a culture screaming at her to abort the "inconvenience." Instead of doing that, she had the courage and selflessness to choose to give up much in order to give the child she was carrying life. Thank you, dear woman, for giving us the chance to parent your beautiful and precious baby. There are no words that could ever express our gratitude. You are a hero to us! We love you!

***********

Twenty-four years ago today a daughter was born to a single girl several states away from us. In an act of great love, that young, hurting mother placed her child in our arms and made the baby girl our baby girl. That child has brought us unspeakable joy.

Anna has now been married for 3-1/2 years and lives several states away from us. I visit her and her family as often as possible ~ not just to see our grandchildren ~ but also to see Anna. She is one of my dearest friends!

Not long before I visited Anna this summer, I had done a maternity photo shoot of her sister, Alison. The two of us had a blast! As Alison and I were laughing together during her shoot, I knew that I wanted to share similar fun with Anna by doing a shoot with her on my next visit.

As I contemplated the idea I came upon the perfect inspiration, a stunning post by Sarah Bradshaw of Sarah Bradshaw Photography. After seeing the artwork of this Washington D.C. photographer, I was on a hunt for the right tools, so to speak, to attempt to capture something somewhat similar. I stumbled upon a lace dress at a vintage store in Lawrence, Kansas and felt like I'd found treasure. I called Anna from the shop to see if she was willing to don "play clothes" again like she did as a little girl, and she said she was game.

On Anna's birthday, I want to share these photos with the world and proclaim how good our God is. He took a severely infertile couple and made us parents through her adoption. Happy birthday, my beloved daughter!

Here is the story of our shoot:

While Anna's sister, Christina, babysat Anna's little girls, we left the house just after sunrise. We started our photography adventure at the grocery store. There we purchased a bouquet of flowers. I knew I just had to incorporate flowers. Anyone who knows Anna well knows that she adores them. We then went to a local park for our first attempt at a mother-daughter photo shoot.

After we'd played around a bit with our first "prop", the flowers, we moved on to a second one ~ a deep purple silk scarf that I had picked up at the same vintage shop where I found Anna's black dress for this shoot.

Anna immediately wrapped the beautiful fabric around herself. As she did, I couldn't help noticing how the early morning light played up her rich brown eyes.

I then asked Anna to play with the scarf in the light breeze.

As the light, luscious fabric wafted in the wind, Anna was inspired to pull it in front of her face like a veil.

We were both tickled with the result.

We then moved to another part of the park which has a stone arch. 

Next I moved my daughter to a short stone wall. We pulled one flower out of the bouquet for the last few photos. The gerber daisy is Anna's favorite type of flower.

Our mother-daughter photo shoot was a great success in my mind. Anna and I laughed together and enjoyed every minute of our special morning.

I'll finish this post with a close-up of Anna Mackenzie that makes this mother's heart sing.

Happy 24th, my beloved Anna! You are a gift from God!