Happy 5th Anniversary, Aaron and Anna!

Five years ago today, Aaron and Anna wed.

Their relationship had started as a friendship in an online group setting through college. The next step was a courtship where both sets of parents played a role in encouraging and advising them.

By the time of their marriage, Aaron and Anna's friendship was already rich and deep.

That friendship was marked by the ability they share to this day to laugh easily together.

After the initial photos, it was time. Anna and her bridesmaids were ready.

And Anna's daddy was ready to walk his little girl down the aisle.

So much joy marked the ceremony...

...and yet the young couple understood the solemnity of the vows they were making before God, family and friends.

This was Aaron and Anna's first kiss. They had waited until the alter for this relationship milestone.

By the end of the ceremony, the two had become one. On the way out of the church, they stopped to hug the parents who'd raised them for this very day.

Aaron's parents have played such a key role in the couple's five years together. Ric and Tina live about 10 minutes from the younger Nix family, and they have sacrificially served Anna and Aaron and their three little girls (with a fourth child on the way!). We thank God for Aaron's loving parents who are now our dear friends!

We exited the sanctuary as two parents overwhelmed with God's goodness!

So many friends and family came to join in our family's grand celebration.

Before heading to the reception, the wedding party had a blast taking this photo in front of the gorgeous theater in which Anna had been blessed to play violin for the local symphony orchestra.

Five years ago. Anna and Aaron were new to dancing with one another. Now dancing is in an important part of keeping their marriage fresh and fun thanks to dance lessons. They also love to play long, involved strategy games together. Anna even wins...sometimes. They've developed and invested in a number of shared interests. At five years their unity in Christ and devotion to each other is beautiful to behold! As I mentioned, they also love the shared adventure of parenting. Their little girls are 3-1/2, 2-1/2 and 9 months old. Aaron and Anna are eagerly welcoming children as the Lord blesses them with each gift.

This is one of my favorite photos from Anna's big day. Anna grew up in a close, tender relationship with her daddy. Letting her go was hard for him!

The day Anna met her birthmother
(Anna was 18)

I'm going to bring this post to an end in a way you might not expect. Our need to "let go" of Anna as she married wasn't the first or most crucial "letting go" in our oldest daughter's life. You see, we adopted Anna Mackenzie at birth. We praise God that her 20-year-old birthmother chose life instead of abortion for Anna. She sacrificially made an adoption plan for the little one growing inside her. We were the incredibly blessed parents she chose to raise her precious daughter. So Anna's very life began with a loving "letting go" by a brave woman we love dearly. On the 5th anniversary of our shared daughter, we give tribute to the woman who gave life to Aaron's wife. She's our hero!

Without Lissie

Mrs Beaver:

Just a quick post before a nap. Mr. Beaver and I have been up since 1:45 a.m. local time. Our plane left at 4:50am.

I'll return to the story of Lissie beginning her crazy-hard-but-Jesus-is-worth-it adventure in upcoming posts. However, right now I just want to post a few pictures of our walk to and from the restaurant where we ate lunch. It probably wasn't wise for emotional reasons, but we ate at the same chic coffee house/cafe where we ate twice with Lissie on the other end of this trip. I ended up weeping during the meal over the goodbye we had said to her. I knew my tears would come, despite my FIRM belief that Lissie is in the perfect place for her at this season of her life. I just hadn't planned for them to flow in front of the lunch crowd in a popular eatery.

Here are pictures from the restaurant's surroundings:

 

This is the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre, renowned for the ballet, opera and concerts that take place there. While we stood admiring the architecture of the building, a pianist was practicing in an adjacent building with the practice room window open. We were treated to our own mini-concert!

 

In front of the theatre is a circular drive. Surrounding the drive is a beautiful bed of flowers, still thriving despite how CHILLY Moscow has been recently.

 

 

 

We took this photo of three cellists exiting the Bolshoi Theatre in honor of Joe Shufro. In addition to being Jaynie's cello teacher, Mr. Shufro is the conductor of our area's youth orchestra. Both Anna and Lissie rose to the role of concert master during their years with that symphony. Our whole family adores Mr. Shufro and his wife, Hahn.

 

 

Here's one more photo of a nearby Russian church with its classic onion dome on the roof. I don't know the age of the building, we've learned on recent trips to this city that many of the churches that were decimated during the communist era have been rebuilt since the fall of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991. The churches have returned to their original purpose as houses of worship.

 

 

 

Oddly enough, whether or not the sun is shining, somehow these gold domes glow. Since this city has often been cloudy when we've been here, they strike me as a beacon of beauty amid the gloom.

 

Once again, I'm going to sign off. Before it gets dark or begins to rain, Mr. Beaver and I are going to go for a walk to the Red Square area. We hope to eat dinner at our favorite local restaurant which specializes in blini (thin pancakes filled with sweet or savory goodies).

A Blessed Woman

Mrs. Beaver:

Our oldest daughter is a blessed woman.

 She has a husband who dotes on her...

...a beautiful baby...

...and, she has the opportunity to stay home and serve both in the name of Christ.

Our oldest daughter is indeed a blessed woman!

Teen Travel for a Purpose

Mrs. Beaver:

While Lissie and I traveled to Cincinnati, others in our family were on the road also.

Jaynie (19 -- in the center) and our four high school-aged teens, left to right -- Mark (16), Cassandra (17), Tatiana (14) and Daria (17) left Friday, June 7 for New Orleans with many other youth from our church. Their reason? To bring hope, love and the gospel to the desperately poor inner-city children, almost all of whom are at least fatherless. Our teens are finished now and driving the long way back, but while in New Orleans they worked with a long-term ministry there called Urban Impact.

We've missed the missing fivesome very much! We're eager to hear their stories and sees ways in which the Lord has changed each of them through their denying-self service to Him

Continuing to Learn Love

Mr. & Mrs. Beaver:

Our family's guiding definition of love is, of course, drawn from Scripture. But we also appreciate the way that Paul David Tripp unpacks the God's word in ways that help us really grasp God's vision for love. He pulls from many Scripture passages in coming up with a summary definition as follows:

"Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving...

 Tripp goes on to unpack love at an even deeper level:

"Love calls you beyond the borders of your own wants, needs, and feelings. Love calls you to be willing to invest time, energy, money, resources, personal ability, and gifts for the good of another. Love calls you to lay down your life in ways that are concrete and specific. Love calls you to serve, to wait, to give, to suffer, to forgive, and to do all these things again and again. (Emphasis ours)

"Love calls you to be silent when you want to speak, and to speak when you would like to be silent. Love calls you to act when you would really like to wait, and to wait when you would really like to act. Love calls you to stop when you really want to continue, and it calls you to continue when you feel like stopping...Love again and again calls you away from your instincts and your comfort. Love requires personal sacrifice. Love calls you to give up your life." What Did You Expect??: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage, pg. 188

Although Tripp's book is intended to help couples grasp God's ways in marriage, the same concepts apply to all our interactions as a family. After all, where better to love than within the family?

So, as we prepare to enlarge our family again through adoption, this reminder from Tripp's marriage book is also helping us to prepare our hearts for the sacrificial kind of love that makes adoption... and family in general... work. It's the kind of love that makes adoption work, even when the world says it's impossible. It's the kind of love that makes adoption work, even when the world says it's too scary. It's the kind of love that makes adoption work, even when we're too exhausted to answer another question or wipe another messy face or solve another sibling conflict. It's the kind of love that only He can raise up in our hearts.

Yet Another April Reason to Celebrate

Mrs. Beaver:

Saturday was an important day for two reasons. First, it was Oksana's birthday. (See most recent post). Second, that day was also the 7th anniversary of the adoption of biological sisters, Tatiana, Natasha and Amy. As I've commented here before, anniversaries are very special to adoptive families. They give us the chance to look back and appreciate all God's done for us.

What an unspeakably precious gift our Heavenly Father has given us in these three girl! Children truly are a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127)!

These three girls add the color to our world. Here are some favorite photos of them:

Natasha (left) (5), Amy (3) and Tatiana (7) dressed to go to church for the first time, four days after arriving from Russia - 2005

The girls on their first trip to one of our favorite vacation spots, the North Shore of Lake Superior.
They'd been part of the family for about four months - 2005

Near their first anniversary, the trio were making "cakes" for the celebration - 2006

A happy swimmer - 2006

Baking buddies sharing the same stool while "helping" an older sister bake - 2007

Our family was blessed with the opportunity to return to England where the first five of us had lived for a couple of years -- 2008

Feeding swans on England's Thames River - 2008

Tatiana at "Odds Farm Park" in rural England - 2008

Yet another bug hunt - 2008

A tired 8-year-old after a long walk through the Cincinnati Zoo - 2010

On vacation in Cincinnati in 2010

Tatiana's first roommate was Lissie. The two share a special bond.

Amy has been Oksana's closest friend since we adopted Oksana in late 2010. Amy has truly been a life saver.
Despite Oksana's speech delay, Amy has learned Oksana's language -- a mixture of Russian and English.
The two of them play together beautifully (well, okay... most of the time).

Oksana's best pal!

Cuddling a pup we "met" at a rest stop - 2011

If you're aware that we've just started the process of adopting a sibling group of four, you may wonder WHY we would be willing to increase our tribe from 12 to 16 children. A portion of the answer is captured in the pictures above. When we look back of over the past seven years we see many truths about God. Our God is a living God. Our God is good. Our God answers prayers. He has proven Himself perfectly faithful through the adoption of and our raising of "The Three Little Girls."

We know we can depend upon that faithfulness in the adopting and parenting of yet another four kiddos. In fact, we eagerly look forward to seeing the Lord move mountains on behalf of the four orphans awaiting a family in an orphanage in Russia.

Jaynie's Departure

Mrs. Beaver:

We went to sleep early last night, thinking we'd be rising before the sun to take Jaynie to our local airport for a 7 am flight. Despite the early hour, we all planned to see her off (with the exception of Mr. Beaver who had an unavoidable business meeting in Florida).

However, about 11:30 Mr. Beaver got a call from Delta Airlines telling him Jaynie's first flight on her long trip had been cancelled. Mr. Beaver scrambled with the agent and was able to get her on a flight out of Omaha in the early afternoon, that would still allow her to connect in Atlanta with the family with whom she's traveling. She'd also still make her connection to her flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where she'll stay for a couple of days before heading on to her final location. Mr. Beaver got a very groggy wife when he called me to tell me of the change, but I went back to sleep grateful to God that the travel glitch had been no worse than a slight inconvenience.

So, this morning we got to sleep later than we anticipated. Then, however, we had to make rapid the preparations for a full day traveling to and from Omaha. We arrived there with plenty of time to spare. When Jaynie checked in, God was gracious to us, and the airline over looked the extra three pounds in each of Jaynie's suitcases.

After we ate lunch, I asked the kids for a group photo--the last one that would include Jaynie for four months.

We then headed to Jaynie's gate, all of us experiencing heavy hearts at the thought of the goodbyes that were now inevitable.

Before the individual goodbyes began, we dropped our belongings on the ground and joined together in a prayer huddle. God blessed Jaynie "above and beyond all we could have asked or thought" (Ephesians 3:20) on her previous trip to that dangerous corner of the world. We pleaded with Him once again for mercies in her life.

After the prayer huddle, many hugs took place and a few tears.

Just before Jaynie made her way down the ramp to the security line I asked our first trio of older Russian adoptees for a photo. When we celebrated their tenth anniversary with us last September, Jaynie was gone and the photo op was impossible.

Mark (16), Jaynie (18) and Cassandra (17)

Then it was time.

Jaynie couldn't resist turning around a couple of times as the distance between us grew.

When she did, we loudly yelled, "We love you, Jaynie!" Okay...I loudly yelled that, but I'm sure the others were feeling the same sentiment!

In some ways the photo below captures what I will miss the most while Jaynie's gone--her enormous grin that gives evidence to a heart filled with peace and joy.

She's not the same child we adopted 10 years ago. That little girl was sullen, distant, rebellious, and even belligerent at times. God has truly healed her orphan hurts. When we adopted her she was in serious need of love. Now she's fully ready to pour out love among the least of these. God is so good.

As the rest of us headed back the way we'd come, we saw Jaynie's plane arrive.

Her siblings watched the jet with sober faces.

After the plane rounded the corner, we continued our march through the airport, knowing Jaynie was going exactly where the Lord was calling her--a central Asian country which is poor in so many ways.

For those of us left here, we had to redefine family yet again.