Update on Christina's Injury

Our deepest thanks to those of you who have been praying since Zhenya posted for Christina. She is pictured here on the right in Moscow five years ago this fall with her two biological sisters, Hope (middle) and Faith.

I will do my best to share more of the startling twist that took place four days ago later today. For now, I'll share a quick update on how 17-year-old Tina is doing since being kicked by a horse four days ago. God has been exceedingly merciful. The kick broke no bones but landed squarely in her abdomen. Remarkably, she's had no internal bleeding. As a However, her internal organs have been enlarged since the trauma. This has caused significant pain for Tina. God has granted her much grace though through the gift of drugs like morphine. She is slowly showing improvement which is ahead of schedule based on the surgeon's original estimate following an MRI. We don't know how much longer she will be hospitalized.

If you happen to be on Instagram, I have been keeping a running "journal" of sorts of this odyssey. You can find me at "barrennomore83".

I continues to amaze our family that anyone follows our blog, but we sure are grateful for your kind support. Thank you again to those who have been praying for Christina! Prayer MATTERS because our God LISTENS! We're so grateful to you! Denise

Tour Red Square with Us

Mrs. Beaver:

This afternoon Mr. Beaver and I walked to Red Square. Come join us on our tour:

 

This dramatic horse statue is a favorite of our family's. When we all traveled to Moscow to bring home Daria, Alexander and Oksana, we took a photo of all twelve kids here. By then it was too cold for the fountains to be running!

 

Here's a slightly different view:

 

A Russian tradition is to have the bride and groom be photographed in front of landmarks in their home town. Moscow is, of course, full of beautiful settings for wedding pictures. Above is the first bride we saw on this Friday afternoon. We saw several more before returning to our hotel.

 

 

We saw this second bride and groom almost immediately. The groom had just given the bride his jacket. We didn't know whether the two soldiers or police following the wedding party were protecting them or simply there by a coincidence.

 

I wish I had my Moscow tour book with me to explain the history of more of the buildings and towers in the Red Square/Kremlin Wall area, but I don't. I hope you enjoy the sights anyway.

 

These domes sit atop one of the churches within the Kremlin Walls. Today they looked especially dramatic shining in the sun with dark rain clouds hovering behind them.

 

 

 

After being up for 19 hours, I'm out of spiz to continue this post. Hopefully more tomorrow from airports as we head for home.

 

While I've been writing, Mr. Beaver. has been IM'ing with Lissie. Her stomach isn't feeling well tonight. Wendy and Scott are wondering if the culprit might be milk direct from a neighbor's cow, even though it was boiled before Lissie had any. At any rate, would you please join us in praying for her to be healed by the Great Physician?

 

 

 

Our Adoption: Dad--On His Own

Mrs. Beaver:

A year ago I had the easy job. I was in Chicago with Lissie, Natasha and Joe who had each qualified locally to compete in the National Bible Bee Finals.

Opening ceremony -- Lissie receiving her medal for qualifying

Banquet on final evening -- Meggie, Bonnie Leigh, Natasha and Lissie (l-r)

Because of the need for me to be at the Bible Bee, Mr. Beaver was a world away, alone in Moscow, Russia. He was single-handily beginning to parent the three children who were finally ours at the end of a court-mandated 10-day wait, following the judge's "Yes," to our petition in late October to adopt Daria (15), Alexander (11) and Oksana (5).

Here's the link to Mr. Beaver's story of God's overwhelming goodness during the adventure of a lifetime: First Day with the Kids

Russia's Equivalent

Mrs. Beaver:

Yesterday, on Veteran's Day, an annual tradition took place here in America; the President laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, outside Washington, D.C.

Russia has a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well, pictured here:

Our family had the opportunity to see this Russian monument this time last year when we spent several days in Moscow finalizing, Daria, Alexander and Oksana's adoptions. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is just outside Red Square and sits in the protecting shadow of the Kremlin wall.

Here's a bit more context for the Tomb:

While we stood and watched on the cold, cloudy November day, we were privileged to see the stately changing of the guard:

The solemn ceremony looked and sounded like this:

In the area near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a large fountain topped by four massive steeds.

That time of year the fountain was empty so our newest Russian horse lover, Daria, climbed on for a photo.

Next all twelve of our children, three of them brand-new to the mix, posed in front of the beautiful sculpture. If you've been a long-term reader, this picture may look familiar. We used it as the introduction to our blog for quite a while after we returned from Moscow.

The picture now qualifies as a favorite family photo because it brings back such sweet memories of our precious opportunity to explore Moscow together--as a FAMILY! What a generous gift the trip was from a glorious, loving God!

Wash Your Car!

Mrs. Beaver:

Tonight I was looking  through photos we took last November when we went to Russia to bring home Daria, Nathaniel and Oksana. I was reminded of seeing this expansive billboard as we left the airport grounds in Moscow.

I understand so little Russian, but I was able to read these words commanding drivers, "Wash Your Car!"

I didn't grasp the small print at the bottom (perhaps because those words didn't have a corresponding picture?!?). Daria told me tonight that they say, "Clean automobile - Clean City." In a metropolis of 12 million, I guess I can understand the desire to get rid of some of the grime inherent to a lot of people living together.

Love is Thicker than Blood

No fancy post this time, simply a photo of our oldest Russian adoptee, Jaynie (17) and our youngest Russian adoptee, Oksana (6) while our family was still in Moscow in November.

Isn't our God good that He could create such a strong bond so quickly across two continents, two regions of the massive country of Russia, as well as two sets of unrelated birth mothers and birth fathers? He is a God whose goodness is unlimited. He is a God whose power is untapped. He is a God whose love is the glue that holds our unusual family together. He is a God who is marvelous beyond description. Whether I think about Jaynie's adoption, nearly 10 years ago, or Oksana's adoption, just over 10 weeks ago, I stand amazed at our God.

(Photo taken by Lissie)

Second Full Day Together: Red Square, Part 2

Mr. Beaver:

We promised when we concluded Part One that there would be a second part to our tale of our second full day spent together in Moscow--the day we ventured to Red Square. However, other events in our lives seem to keep demanding blog posts and much time has passed.

We still want to recount the day. What an amazing gift from God to be able to see Red Square together, with it's world famous sites, when you've just become a family! (For the first part of the story, see XXXXX--I'll get help from my teens with this tomorrow--Mrs. Beaver.)

As it turns out, this retelling is going to take at least three posts. Here's a bit more of our adventure:

We started our second full day again with family Bible time. The next step was some study of tour books and maps.

Speedy and Jaynie learning about the captial of the country of their birth.

Cassandra, Alexander and Princess Bink studying the map of Moscow.

After becoming a bit more informed, we bundled up for the trek to Red Square. Our hearts overflowed with gratitude to the Lord to have the opportunity to see one of the world's great cities--the great city of our nine Russian adoptees--together as a family.

As we left our flats (remember we had to have five flats in two high rises because each flat slept only two or three), we considered using the Metro. This Metro station was the closest to our flats and is shaped like the Soviet star.

This was a common sight near high pedestrian traffic areas in Moscow like Metro stations--a little old woman curled into a ball, begging. A Russian Orthodox icon is in her cup. Speedy had just dropped some coins into her receptacle. The temperature was probaby only about 35 degrees.

As we considered using the Metro and our newness to being a clan of 14, combined with the crowds inherent to the Metro, our choice was easy -- we would walk the 1.7 miles instead. Plus, the walk provided opportunities to build relationships.

We frequently walked in pairs to avoid being in the way of other pedestrians. Can you imagine--our family now makes up SEVEN pairs?!?

On our approach to Red Square we passed by the Russian State Library. A giant statue of the prolific writer Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) sits in front of the angular building. It's hard to get perspective on Dostoevsky's size here, but the building is easily four stories tall.

However, the mammoth statue was almost concealed by our dozen children.

"Red Square, parts 3 and 4" are coming!

Day 6 in Moscow - Meet the Family Day!! - 5th Day with the Kids

Mr. Beaver -

What an amazing day! Today began with great anticipation. For Daria, Alexander and Oksana, the day was to be a day of happy reunion. They were both excited and a little nervious at the thought of seeing Momma again. I knew it would be an even sweeter day than they imagined, as they were actually going to meet their new brothers and sisters as well!

I asked the kids what they wanted to do this morning while awaiting Momma's arrival. I offered up various types of sights to see, shopping or playing games. Instead, they all agreed they wanted to make a "Welcome to Moscow" sign for Momma, much like the "Happy Birthday" signs we had made, photographed and sent to them by e-mail on their birthdays.

We had no art supplies so our vision required some shopping, and I knew we needed to hurry as Mrs. Beaver had texted me that they had already landed... 30 minutes ahead of schedule! I figured we had time to shop because the family had the daunting task of getting through immigration, customs, and Moscow traffic. So Daria took the enormous Moscow yellow pages and identified a likely shop just up the street - Noviy Arbat is a very 'happenin' place - and off we went to buy poster-board and markers for the joyous task.

The store turned out to be an amazing 2-story book store (which I knew would not escape the detailed scrutiny of Mrs. Beaver if ever she saw it). With MUCH help from Daria, we purchased the supplies we needed and headed back to the apartment to create the sign of love for Momma.



While Daria, Alexander and Oksana were shopping...

  

Mrs. Beaver and the rest of the crew were on their way!

Just as the kids were finishing up the sign, Momma texted that the family had arrived downstairs. This was an amazing blessing from God. I had been praying for His intervention to make things work on this special day, as we had simultaneous appointments at the embassy and the apartment building... not to mention that those appointments generally coincided with the time I expected Mrs. Beaver and the family to show up. As usual, the Author of all time and space orchestrated things far better than I ever could. 

I hurried the kids along to finish their poster, bundled them up and headed down to the first floor with them to what I knew would be a big, happy surprise. As we exited the building, the family was nowhere in sight. But as we headed around the corner to the front of the building I saw the large group of people I had been missing... and their equally large pile of luggage mounded on the sidewalk. This was just the first unusual sight of our family that Moscow would see! I was sure we would be a spectacle many, many more times before traveling home.

There is simply no way to adequately capture the meeting. It started with our American kids nearly flying over the sidewalk toward their new siblings who were in shock that their whole family had come to Moscow. We had done enough with pictures and SKYPING that they knew their new siblings when they saw them, but I think there was a mixture of surprise, joy and a feeling of being overwhelmed... we ARE an overwhelming bunch!

After quick introductions outside on a November morning in Moscow, we assembled the tribe and their amazing pile of bags for the trek up to our apartment. At this point we were balancing our desire to get to know each other with our need to get off to our required Embassy appointment with the new kids. We had about 20 minutes to get things moved upstairs before we had to go.

First group picture standing just outside our apartment building in Moscow

But this was where we hit our first "large group" glitch. The desk clerk (quasi-security guard) in the lobby of the apartment building was NOT happy with our group of 14 heading upstairs. I think he was concerned about all of us going to stay in just one apartment... an understandable concern if that had been the case. There was no way he was going to let this giant crowd go up in his building to a single apartment! Not on his watch!

I did the best I could to explain that we had enough apartments for all the family and promised to bring back the paperwork to prove it. Then, I just did what I have frequently observed since arriving here... I did the Russian thing -- I went ahead and led the family up to our apartment over his mild protests. It seems the assumption here is that someone will object to just about anything you do and you need to just push ahead and let them stop you if they really mean it. At least that how it seems to work amongst Russians themselves... from an outsider's perspective.

Momma and I quickly "settled" the troops in our apartment, gathered the three newest Beavers and headed off to the embassy. There was no time to check in to rooms and spread people out before we left, so we left this jet-lagged group as comfortable as possible considering that we had 9 jet-lagged people occupying a single apartment with only 3 beds.

It was a bit tight before we were able to check in to our other apartments

An amazing quiverful and blessing from the Lord!

Lissie and Jaynie with their new sister, Oksana

Tessa with her new brother, Alexander

Cassandra with her new sister Oksana

Natasha and Princess Bink with their new sister, Daria

We actually headed out a little early, as I had kept the Foat's waiting on more than one occasion. This time I was determined not to be late! We used our extra time to stroll down the noisy, 10-lane street on which the embassy resides to one of Stalin's magnificent old buildings which sits back from the main street behind a small park-like setting. The setting was somehow ironically idyllic.

As our appointment time approached we walked the short distance back to the embassy, arriving just before the Foats. Together we re-entered the embassy for our final visit there, where the screening process was much easier since I had not brought a lot of electronics this time (see Day 5 blog).

The Day 2 embassy process was mostly similar to what we remembered from the past. First, we were ushered into a packed waiting room with several other American families and their Russian adoptees. After a few minutes of waiting, one of the embassy workers came out and addressed all the families to let us know what was going to happen. She had us all raise our right hand and swear that the information in our paperwork was truthful. Then she provided a very helpful briefing about the process we would go through that day, and the process we would go through on the trip home.

There was one important addition to this briefing versus what we remembered from prior adoptions - critical information about citizenship. We learned something here that we had only stumbled onto when we tried to get visas for our Russian children a couple of weeks before this trip - namely that our adopted Russian children would be dual citizens unless and until they chose, as adults, to renounce their Russian citizenship. They also told us it would be impossible for our Russian children to return to Russia on an American passport (once again, our experiences provided more evidence that God is sovereign over even the most powerful nations in the world as He provided IMPOSSIBLE visas for our Russian kids for this trip! Praise be to our sovereign God!).

Finally, the embassy worker told us that the young men being adopted were subject to mandatory military service if they entered Russia between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. We have much to research to understand the pros and cons of our children retaining dual citizenship, but in the mean time we'll be keeping Speedy and Alexander clear of Russia from about age 15 on! They could literally be conscripted on the spot... it has happened! Hmmm... come to think of it... this does give us some leverage as parents... hmmm...

Next, we were called as a family to a little cashier-style booth where the embassy worker went through all our paperwork, checking names, spelling, etc. for accuracy. The person helping us was the one who had provided the briefing for the group, so we took the time to say a BIG thank you for the citizenship information, and explained that it was news to us who had adopted twice from Russia over the past 9 years. After our paperwork was processed the embassy workers spent about another 25 minutes issuing the US visas for our kids (in their Russian passports), and then we were free to go. We went outside where we met Marina and waited for the Foats to finish the process themselves. It was a VERY happy gathering at this point.

Now we were anxious to get back to our other kids and start being a family of 14. Off we went to be reunited with the jet-lagged crew in our apartment! I also needed to check into the other apartments and then move the troops so people could settle in. The check-in process itself took about 45 minutes as the apartment manager had to take me around to all 4 other apartments, two of which were in a building about a block away, making sure all the keys worked and making sure I didn't have any questions. This was important because every single apartment is different, especially the key/security aspects of the apartments.

Finally, it was time to feed this enormous crew. Even at home that task will always be at least a bit challenging, but on foreign turf, particularly in a large city not especially open to children and large families it was daunting. We prayed and God led us to a "Coffee Haus" on the first floor of our own apartment building. Amazingly, God went before us and the staff not only allowed the 14 of us to sit in their very busy restaurant, they actually helped pull together tables for us! It was crowded but sweet! We did the best we could to keep the orders simple for the server who had a sweet, patient countenance and had a glorious first meal together!

Our first real meal as a family of 14! Coffee Haus on the first floor of our apartment building in Moscow

After dinner we had a few more minutes to enjoy together before calling it a night. We settled in like any other family... of 14!

Did I mention that Oksana LOVES bubbles?

Alexander LOVES drawing and other forms of artwork

Cassandra was a hit reading English language children's books

To close the day I escorted each group of kids to their rooms, stopping at the local "prodookti" store to buy water and yogurts for morning. While it was difficult to be apart, we really had limited choices to house a group this big in Moscow. After escorting everyone to their appointed apartment and praying over them, I think we all grieved a bit to be separated, but remained grateful to God for His provision and just determined to spend only the nights in separate apartments. The rest of our time would be spent together, praise be to God!



On Our Way to Become a Family

From Mrs. Beaver:

Mr. Beaver has journaled the story of his days of single-parenting our three new children in a foreign country who don't share the same language until I could arrive after attending the Bible Bee Nationals with Joe, Lissie and Natasha.

Now I"ll add the tale of our journey to travel halfway around the world to Mr. Beaver and our new family members. After rising at 2:30 a.m., the kids and I arrived at the Sioux City Airport 10 minutes later than our 4:30 a.m. goal. (The fault was all mine. I continue to try to learn how to avoid keeping people waiting, but obviously have not mastered the art yet.)

We were greeted by the warmest Delta agents imaginable. We've had contact with these three women throughout our eight years in Sioux City, and they've begun to feel like friends. What a difference this kind of kindness and service makes as you face a journey of the type the kids and I were facing this time! Thanks, Jody, Dawn and Cindy! You got us off to a stress-free start! We can sense that you are FOR our family as we go through this enormous change as a family, and your support means more to us that we can express.

Taking on the care of three older children is daunting, even when you've adopted three other times. Having the support of friends is of course critical, but having the interest and enthusiasm of people in the community is like a cool drink of water on a hot day. We've been so blessed in this way by numerous doctors, dentists, and these wonderful Delta agents.

The kids were so very happy to board and truly begin our journey to their dad...their three new siblings, and for the six of them adopted in trios in 2001 and 2005--the land of their birth.

Once we arrived in the Minneapolis Airport, our first stop, I decided to treat the kids to a full, sit-down breakfast rather than grabbing a pastry or something. Having just traveled internationally two weeks ago, I had experienced the unpredictablity of getting a full meal and even getting food at all sometimes when jet lag leaves you hungry.

Usually we try to share meals when we eat in a restaurant and drink water to save money. This time I let everyone order their own meal and even juice or coffe to go along.

When I was ready to pay the sizable bill, we got the most amazing surprise. Our server told us that a gentleman in her section had anonimously purchase our meal for us. What a gift from the Lord! Our hearts filled with gratitude for this sweet confirmation that He was with us--caring for us in intimate, tender ways!

When we arrived in New York City, with a lay over of a couple of hours, some of the older kids went in search of outlets where we could get an intermediate charge on some of our electronic equipment. They came back with something far better than knowlege of electrical outlets. They returned with dear friends in tow!


Tom and Joyce are the parenst of and in-laws to Gary and Amanda, some of our very closest friends. Gary and Amanda live in Minneapolis; Tom and Joyce live even farther north in Duluth, Minnesota. We've been with Tom and Joyce for a number of milestone events for Gary and Amanda's children, such as graduations. Some of these events have required considerable cooking, and Tom is an amazing chef. He also has a terrific sense of humor, and Joyce has a wonderfully warm heart. We've come to love the two of them very much! Needless to say, we enjoyed our unexpected lay over together. Our family said good-bye to them thanking the Lord for such a gift.

None of us slept well on the flight from NYC to Moscow, probably as much from the ongoing excitement at the thought that we would finally become a family of fourteen soon. Despite the sleeplessness, it was still an enjoyable flight becasue we met a couple of folks who were very interested in our story and even wanted to have a photo taken with us after the flight landed.

The first step after landing was to go through immigration. I had filled out all ten immigration forms the night before on the plane, except for the passport and visa numbers. The way my luggage was situated, I couldn't reach the passposts to do this.

I thought, "No problem. I'll just fill those in while we wait in the long immigration lines." However, I hadn't counted on the time it would take to have our photo taken with the kind people on our flight. As we arrived at immigration control, nearly the entire plane had already passed through. As I hurriedly worked to sort passports and write in the numbers on a little counter at the back of the room, an official came up and began bruskly insisting we move up to the a passport control kiosk. I frantically tried to indicate that I didn't have all my paperwork filled out. He insisted anyway. We slunk up to the last window, afraid of the scolding we'd get for the incompleteness of our forms.

Instead of the dour women Jim and I have encountered time and time again on our travels to Moscow, a beautiful young woman with a gentle countinance sat behind the glass and began processing our passports and visas. Each time she finished with one of the kids' passports, she would smile at them (unheard of!) as she slide their passport through the slit in the glass. They then passed through a small gate into baggage claim. I was the last to arrive at her window. When she smiled and handed me my paperwork, I said thank you in Russian and then proceeded to tell her, "You have been so kind. You are an angel." I don't know how much she understood of what I said, but the word "angel" is similar enough in Russian that I knew she would grasp my meaning. She smile, giggled quietly and immediatley turned the focus of her eyes on her desk.

By the time I'd finished at passport control, my wonderful kids had pulled our luggage off the belts. All ten bags had arrived. What an answer to prayer! Right away we dropped our heads and said a prayer of thanksgving. (Having grown up during the Cold War, it still feels strange to me to pray openly in the former Soviet Union.)

Our driver arrived almost immediately, and we piled into a large while van. Even with it's size, we were sitting in each other's laps.

We didn't think much about this, because seat belts aren't readily available in this type of vehicle here. However, as soon as we were off the airport grounds, our driver pulled over and motioned to me what I took to mean that there were too many of us in the vehicle. Another car pulled up alongside. The two drivers got out and quickly transferred Jaynie, Cassandra and Princess Bink to the other car. Joe and Speedy both tried to step in to be one of those being transferred so that they could protect their sisters, but the drivers made it clear they were satisfied with the arrangement and hurried the boys back into the original van.

I was up in a front seat with a tall back which keep me from fully being able to see what was happening and protest. As the two vehicles roared down the highway, I thought, "Yikes! I just let three of my young daughters be whisked into another car in a strange country with no way to contact them! What kind of mother am I?!?" I knew, undeniably that I was a helpless mother who must rely on my all-powerful God. I prayed for his protection for my girls (and the rest of us) and relaxed in His care for the rest of the long drive.
We did arrival safely. Next time we'll share the story of the meeting of the 12 children.