Doubled Joy!

Each New Year's our family REALLY celebrates. No, the change from one calendar year to the next doesn't set our hearts to dancing. The reason for the doubled joy is that on January 1 each year we're privileged to rejoice over God's gift of TWINS. This year John and Alison turned 24.

I love the look on John's face here. He and Alison became best friends before their births. They have been the most remarkable cheering section for each other. Their relationship is just what you would hope of twins. Since Alison married Eric, John and Eric have developed and invested in a close friendship. In addition, John is a favorite uncle of Eric and Alison's little guy, William. John is eagerly awaiting the birth of his twin's first daughter.

We were informed, after untold testing and medication, that I would NEVER get pregnant. As a result of that never, our joy at having TWINS is to the sun and back. Our gratitude to God for the miracle of John and Alison is limitless. The Lord has shown us great kindness.

Therapeutic Ice Cream

Mrs. Beaver:

Our family has been going through a great deal of adjusting the past three weeks following the sudden death of my mother-in-law's single sister (see In the Blink of An Eye). Aunt Jean was beloved by all of us so a deep wound has been left in our hearts.

Mr. Beaver's mom, Jane, is wresting with even more grief than the rest of us. Returning to the care of the home and yard she shared with Aunt Jean was too much for the 82-year-old so she has been staying with us. Overall she's doing remarkably well, but, of course, she has waves of sadness sweep over her. Some of these waves are due to pure grief at the loss of her sister, best friend and roommate. Then there are also tsunamis of fear over what her living situation will be as time goes on. She lost her security, as well as her sister in mid January.

Tonight, my wise husband knew we could all use a bit of laughter. So he packed us into the 15-passenger and took us to the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor. A great time was had by all!

And we did laugh!

Grandma joined in the fun, first looking a bit leery over the size of her sundae...

...but then a quick change of heart left her ready to enjoy every scrumptious bite.

Perhaps her guilt was assuaged by forgoing the whipped cream!

Oksana enjoyed a Root Beer Float, as did several of the other kids.

As our kiddos finished their ice cream, I gathered them on the parlor's sweeping staircase...

Judging by the smiles, I'd say that laughter had been good medicine!

Finished!

Mr. & Mrs. Beaver:

This week we dressed up for a special occassion.

With God's above-and-beyond grace,
our twins, Lissie and John (20), have completed college!

Such a milestone called for a visit to the fanciest restaurant in town

that we might declare God's lavish goodness to our family.

We only visit for very special celebrations.

 

John earned his Bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship in May. He feels so blessed to have been selected by Wells Enterprises, maker of Blue Bunny Ice Cream, as the one and only summer intern in Marketing. We're all praying this opportunity will lead to permanent employment with Wells. In any event, he's already gaining tremendous experience which should equip him for future employment.

Lissie earned a Bachelor's degree in Humanities. She is currently preparing to spend approximately 9 months in Central Asia, working as a homeschool teacher for some dear friends. (She'll be in a different country than that in which her sister, Jaynie, lived). Lissie will also study one of the local languages at the university there. She already has a violin student awaiting her arrival, so she will be taking her passion for music half way around the world.

Both John and Lissie had a blessed experience in earning their degrees. They "attended" college through a distance learning approach called College Plus!, a program that allowed them to earn their degrees on accelerated timing at a very reasonable cost. These parents are grateful to God for the CollegePlus! program!

Daria's 17th

Mr. And Mrs. Beaver:

When Daria turned 15, we spent the day feeling sad. After all, she was in Russia, and we were in America. Our hearts ached as we thought, "Argh...we've already missed 14 of her birthdays! Not another missed milestone!"

We were also concerned. If she turned 16 before being adopted, Daria would "age-out" of the Russian orphanage system and no longer be adoptable. Now she was turning 15, and we were only a little way into the adoption process. Previous experience told us that just about anything could happen capable of slowing down or halting the process. Our adoption of sisters Tatiana, Natasha and Amy in 2005 had taken 14 months because the Russian government had stopped all foreign adoptions for several months while the process was reviewed by the Ministry of Education. We just didn't have 14 months this time. Not if we hoped to get this amber-eyed teenager out of the system before it was too late. We keenly felt our dependence on God to make the seemingly impossible possible.

The arrival of Daria's 15th birthday in March of 2010 made us just that much more aware of the urgency of getting this precious teen we desperately wanted as our daughter out of her orphanage and into our home. In the end, the Lord answered countless prayers and Daria became ours just four months before the ominous deadline associated with her 16th birthday.

Unlike two years ago, this March Daria's birthday brought us nothing but happiness. God's grace has been more than sufficient, allowing Daria to adjust beautifully to her adoption. She's wonderfully affectionate, kind, funny, loyal and loves Jesus. Daria is now so close to adulthood. and we will eagerly watch as the Lord takes this once hopeless life and transforms it for His glory and her good.

This year, we asked Daria what she wanted to eat for her birthday. Without a moment's hesitation she chose ice cream...

...so off to the Blue Bunny parlor we went!

The following picture is particularly reflective of the kind of hope and healing that God has worked in Daria's heart. Two years ago, she was an only child emerging from an orphanage... someone who had spent her entire life learning how to fend for herself. When Mrs. Beaver was taking photos as we enjoyed our ice cream, Daria herself initiated the hug below with Alexander. She now has real brothers and sisters that she loves and who love her as well. God is so good!

A Sweet Experience

Today we attended the grand opening of Wells Dairy's (Blue Bunny Ice Cream) new ice cream parlor. Situated a small Midwestern town that headquarters the company, the parlor boasts a large 2-story eating area, small gift shop, elegant architecture, and--you guessed it--ice cream! 

After picking Dad up from the airport (he had already been in Cincinnati for business, eaten lunch with Anna, and flown back, all by 2:00!), we found a place to park our 15-passenger van and walked the rest of the way to the parlor.

When a good-sized company is headquartered in a small town, it gains privileges such as a closing main street to accommodate crowds to Blue Bunny's new parlor.

Blue Bunny, in return, is loyal to the local community and conscientious about helping to keep the town in good condition. Instead of building a new facility on the outskirts of town or somewhere else entirely, they renovated an older building in the little downtown area (the date on the building is 1917).

Both inside and out, the building has an intentionally vintage, hometown feel that is refreshing and simple.

Ice Cream, anyone? 

The entrance to the ice cream parlor; the gift shop is to the left, the ice cream counter to the right.

Okay, I admit it--I couldn't resist adding a picture of this adorable apron.

Cassandra enjoying the view from the second story. I have a beautiful sister! 

And of course...

 We indulged in some Blue Bunny ice cream. 

With good reason, Oksana is a huge fan of her big brothers.  

Besides answering dozens of her questions a day, her brothers willingly include her in their sports, which our active little girl dearly loves.

And last but not least, a snapshot of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. Each and every day, my siblings and I are grateful for their love for us and for each other.

~Lissie