She's Here!

Mrs. Beaver:

Praising God for the safe arrival of our first grandchild:

Brielle Madelyn Nix

Born 3:50 p.m. EST

6 lbs 7 oz

19-1/4 inches

Born to Aaron and Anna Nix (see happy, brand new daddy below)

Mother and baby are well! 

I dedicate this post to Anna's birthmother. I have thought of you, H, so many times in the past 24 hours. You have been on my heart as I've relived the day Anna Mackenzie was born. Your selflessness in giving life to Anna rather than aborting her made today possible. Your willingness to sacrifice comfort and convenience that Anna might live has now resulted in the remarkable blessing of Brielle. What a beautiful legacy! Thank you--times without number!

Denise



Inside the Kremlin in Moscow

Mr. & Mrs. Beaver:

It was our last day in Moscow in November 2010. Our family had traveled to Russia to bring home our newest members through adoption--Daria (15-1/2), Alexander (11), and Oksana (6). We went inside the Kremlin to see the beautiful churches hidden to the world by the tall walls. The weather was lousy--a cool damp drizzle--but even so the domes on this church seemed to glow without the help of sunshine. The tiny mosaic tile which wrapped each column was a work of art all in itself.

While we were awed by so many beautiful sights within the Kremlin, as parents we only had eyes for our new teenage daughter. For her these famous tourist draws represented the colorful, unique and beautiful culture she would be leaving as a result of agreeing to be adopted. Daria was suffering with the knowledge that the next day she would be say farewell to all she'd ever known and loved. Our normaly vibrant daughter was as droopy as the weather, and our hearts just ached for her! Truthfully, we couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose language, foods, smells, just to mention a few of the losses she would experience. We longed to listen to her heart on this last day in her motherland but since we didn't share a language yet, all we could do was move through the Kremlin at the pace set by Daria, with tissues handy as tears fell.

Daria dipped low this day and again several times once she was living in America. Each time we gave her space in our attempt to treat her the way we would want to be treated. After she'd had time to grieve the loss of Russia, she'd emerge caustiously ready to embrace being a member of our family in mid America. God's grace saw all of us through these difficult times, which now are nothing but a distant memory. She still loves Russia deeply, but now her ties are to our family here in America. Even more importantly, Daria also now belongs wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ and is investigating ways she can spend her life serving the Father of the Fatherless who has rescued her twice.

Give Us Strength, Lord!

Mrs. Beaver:

Tomorrow at 7 am Jaynie begins her long trip back to the Central Asian country where she serves as a home school teacher to two American families, who serve in aid jobs. While there, Jaynie will also be teaching English and Art to a group of street children between about 7 and 11 years old. What a long way this former orphan has come as she seeks to impact her remote corner of the world! Now she's a Pied Piper with an incredibly open heart for children whose families suffer heart-wrenching poverty.

Jaynie loves the local people, thrives in her work and truly adores the family for whom she will be teaching (the other family is in the US to give birth to their fourth child.) Mr. Beaver and I are utterly confident that she will be exactly where the Lord her. As we've prepared for her departure, we've been blessed once again with the "peace that passes all understanding."

Jaynie will be traveling back with the family for whom she will teach, and they have a wonderful way of keeping her laughing. I know the Lord will sustain her, but tonight Jaynie's tears have already begun flowing over having to say good-bye to her family. She just crawled in bed with me, and we cuddled and talked and cried for quite a while. But its hard knowing this will be our last opportunity until June.

These photos were taking at the airport when she left last August. Please pray for all of us as we separate tomorrow!

Dinner for Three

Mrs. Beaver:

Last night Mr. Beaver and I took 16-year-old Daria to the nicest restaurant in town. It was just the three of us. Doing anything in a group that small is unusual in a family our size! Daria even got to shop for and don a brand new dress for the special occasion.

Why all the fuss?

Daria is the sixth of our teens to go through an important rite of passage in our family. We call it the Purity Promise Dinner. Our goal last night was to encourage Daria to commit to physical, emotional and spiritual purity in pursuit of Christ-like holiness while she waits to marry the right man at the right time according to God's plan for her life. We asked her to commit to sexual abstinence until marriage because we want God's very best for her and for her husband-to-be.

Mr. Beaver and I draw these convictions from the Bible. So after ordering our food last night, Mr. Beaver went over a number of scriptures with Daria showing her God's good plan for her life. He took her to Bible verses where the Lord articulates His insistence that His people save physical intimacy for the marriage bed. Daria's dad showed her that God wants more than mere physical purity. He wants purity of the mind and heart as well. The Lord wants young people to save all of themselves for their marriage partners.

Once Daria's dad had explained our plea for her to pursue purity, he asked her if she was willing to wait. Her response was an enthusiastic, "Yes!" She went on to tell us that while living in the orphanage in Russia and attending a community school, she'd had the opportunity to witness the devastation that not waiting can cause. She'd seen the brokenness that giving your heart and your body too soon can produce. She told us she wants something more like the love-filled magic she's seen between her sister, Anna, and her brother-in-law, Aaron.

We warned Daria that the promise she was making would be hard to keep. She'd be battling the world's ways and her own hormones. Daria's not naive, however. Living in an orphanage until she was nearly 16 opened her eyes to the very realities from which we've tried to shelter our other children. She knows life's hard edge, but now she also knows Christ. She wants to fight the good fight with His help. We promised we'd stand shoulder to shoulder with her, always ready to listen to her struggles. We promised we'd always be willing to pray with her. We promised we'd be available to counsel her and guide her. We promised her never-ending support and love.

Once Daria made her pledge to wait for the right man at the right time, as her dad likes to put it, he pulled out the visible reminder of her promise to walk the path of purity. He placed a ring on her left hand which will remain there until a man who has Mr. Beaver's approval replaces the band with an engagement ring.

Daria's hand and that of her daddy

Until Daria's forever man comes along, her dad will protect her and provide for her. He'll train her in the ways of God, and he'll intercede on her behalf in prayer before the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Then someday he'll stand at a wedding alter and pass those responsiblities to a young man who is prepared to be responsible for Daria for life.

 To God be the glory!

Her Long Wait Over

Mrs. Beaver:

Princess Bink has heard one refrain too many times. Over and over people have looked at the gap between her top teeth and said, "I bet all you want for Christmas is your two front teeth." Often times they've even broken into song with those words. Our precious little Bink has had to be patient with this routine for a long time.

Princess Bink with a brand new tooth

When we adopted Princess Bink from Bryansk, Russia six years ago this month, she had just turned three years old, and she had a mouth full of rotted teeth. The dentist suspected she had so much damage from being left repeatedly in her crib with a juice bottle. In fact, so many of her teeth needed attention that the pediatric dentist said he would have to do the work under general anesthesia. We had the surgery done within just two months of her adoption because she was battling infection. The oral surgery took an hour and a half and left her with just 11 teeth. She'd lost the front two on the bottom and on the top, all four.

When Dr. Hemmingsen met with us after the surgery, he told us that she was so developmentally delayed that he didn't think she'd get her top teeth until she was eight.  Princess Bink is developmentally delayed because of the alcohol her birthmother drank while she was in utero. She is also delayed because of the severe neglect she suffered while a baby and toddler. The choices her birthmother made have affected even her teeth.

Dr. Hemmingsen was spot on about the timing of the arrival of Princess Bink's front teeth. Finally, this weekend, just a few days before she turns nine, she came running down the hall after brushing her teeth one evening, hollering, "My tooth is in! My tooth is in!"

We all love our Princess Bink exceedingly and had been waiting with her for months for the beginning signs that change was taking place which would turn into tooth eruption. We came running and dancing and skipping down to meet her, each one of us eager to see the tiny white buds of a tooth pushing their way through her pink gums. Sure enough, the six year wait is over. She can now have front teeth like her eight-year-old peers.

Most people probably wouldn't include a photo like this one to the left in their family blog, but this tooth is a REALLY big deal to our whole family! Watching your baby wait for six years and listening to countless well-meaning folks ask her who knocked her teeth out or how long will it be until they begin to come in is enough to cause extreme rejoicing when the event occurs!

So please rejoice with us as we say thank you to God for the front tooth that has emerged in the mouth of a former orphan who has waited for nearly six years.

Multiple Milestones for a Dynamic Duo!

Twins, Joe and Lissie, our "dynamic duo" started their education journey as a team, drawing strength from each other to face their first day of preschool.

They reached a culminating milestone on the third Saturday in May, 2010, as they graduated from high school in a ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa, along with 124 other home schoolers.

On the Saturday following commencement, Joe and Lissie reached another great milestone... their senior recital!

This recital was the culmination of more than 12 years of lessons and one solid year of dedicated rehearsal for the major event.

The many hours of rehearsal included both solo practice time and group practice time with Tessa and Jaynie who play with Joe and Lissie in the family's string quartet (which also played in the recital).

Finally, when the big day arrived, it started with a very serious dress rehearsal...

... well, serious for Joe, anyway!

Just minutes before the recital... once again, the dynamic duo faces a challenge together!

We are grateful to Joe and Lissie's talented, dedicated music teachers who coached, encouraged, helped, and instructed them to this important milestone.

Joe Shufro, pictured here with his wife, Hanh, is the conductor of the Sioux City Youth Symphony and Principal Cellist of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra.

Lissie has been a member of Mr. Shufro's youth symphony for 2-1/2 years along with Tessa (the concert master). Mr. Shufro also teaches Jaynie cello.

Mr. Shufro is also a patient encourager, with a keen sense of humor that all his students enjoy. He inspires Sioux City's youth to make great music.

Michele Grossman (below) is a remarkably accomplished pianist. She has raised Joe's piano skills to a whole new level in the short time she has been teaching him.

She has also blessed our family by accompanying both Lissie, Tessa and Jaynie in a number of their strings recitals.

Michele has even shared her dear mother, Marlene, with us. Marlene has been a real champion of the musical efforts of Joe, Lissie and all of our children. She's like family to us!

For the last 3 years, Dr. Eunho Kim has patiently trained up both Lissie and Tessa in their study of the violin. Dr. Kim is an accomplished musician herself, playing the role of Concert Master in the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. Under her skilled teaching and gentle encourgement, both Lissie and Tessa have learned more than they ever dreamed possible. They love Dr. Kim!

The events of these two consecutive Saturdays brought a great sense of completion to Joe and Lissie's education here at home. They began as a team and they've finished as a team. We thank God for the blessing that they've been to each other and for the blessing that they've been to the rest of us.

~Mr. and Mrs. Beaver