Olga accepted into College Honor Society!

Olga received her membership packet today officially recognizing her as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa College Honor Society!

She was invited to join earlier this year after achieving eligibility requirements of completing 12 college credit hours with at least a 3.5 GPA. Which, she managed to do as a concurrently enrolled Junior in high school (home school)!

She continues to take advantage of concurrent college enrollment this year--her Senior year of high school--and is likely to have 46 college credit hours (some through advanced testing) already accumulated when she graduates from high school in May '09. She definitely is taking after her father in this area of her life! :-)

She's thrilled and we're very proud of her!

Olga's Senior Portrait

Our Girls...

...continue to grow and 'blossom'--too quickly. :-)

July 2008

Kids' World 2008

Today our girls and I volunteered to work the Russia booth at the local "Kids' World" event--booths highlighting various countries and cultures!

Nina helping the kids color and make Russian flags--and loving it!

Olga writing the kids' names in Russian in their 'passports'.

Me, handing out info. sheets to the kids and sharing Russian history and trivia.

Olga's first car!

Olga has been saving her money and is now the proud owner of her very own car!

Showing Christ's Love for Children in the CIS

Please consider taking part in this year's Immanuel's Child program benefiting children in the former Soviet Union.

Just $25 will enable Russian churches to purchase and give away much needed items to children (Russian Bible, hygiene/toiletries, fresh fruit, clothing, etc.).

Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) has been ministering in Russia since 1934--long before many ministries dared. Please visit SGA's website.

NOT "born in the USA", but still an American!

Olga got to vote in her first election today--and a "Presidential Election" at that! (Trivia: She was born in Russia while it was still under Communist rule.)

Fall 2008 ~ Cello Choir performance

"Gotcha Day" ~ Six years ago today...

...we legally "got" our daughters! We celebrate this day EVERY year by eating out or going/doing something special--this year will be no exception, but it's still a secret for now!

This photo was taken just before we left the flat where we had lived for almost a month! Pictured front to back, Fareed (our driver), Nina (our youngest daughter!), Olga (our oldest daughter!), Helen (our translator), Nelya (hosted us in her family's flat), and last but not least a brand new Mama and Papa!

And, here we are at the Yekaterinburg airport waiting to fly to Moscow--finally on our way HOME!


And, these are our girls today!

"The King" and I...

...err, and my daughters!

On our way home from vacation we stopped at the Memphis Visitor's Center, and just look who we ran into!! :-)

The Many (silly) Faces of Nina

This one was taken the first day of our 2008 vacation.

Counseling the Adopted Child

I haven't had time to read the whole article linked HERE, but because I/we subscribe to the CCEF (Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation) Biblical Counseling Journal and have a great degree of respect for CCEF I decided to go ahead and post this link.

Readoption ~ 2008

We spent part of our afternoon today in court--readopting our girls so that the state can/will issue American birth certificates. Their new birth certificates will have all the original information (Russian birth place, etc.), but will be in English and issued by and in the U.S.

FYI - we were given Russian issued birth certificates that list us as their parents, but of course they are in Russian with an attached English translation. :-)

Support and Encouragement for Adoptive Parents & Families

If you're considering adopting, in the process of adopting, or have already adopted 'older' children, please drop by our adoption support blog (co-authored with dear friends) for some Biblical encouragement and support!

Adoption 3:16

Or follow the 'feed' on my sidebar.

I'm still adding stories (and pictures) to our adoption story!

Here's a post (and pictures) I just added to our 'history', "Locks of Love".

Piano Recital ~ 2008

Nina played, Journey in the Night, by Gillock



Olga played, Sonata No. 25, Op. 79, Presto alla tedesca, by Beethoven

Dos and Don'ts for Mother~Daughter Talks

(HT: Purple Cellar)


Do be available. Often the time won't be convenient, but try not to show it.

Do be encouraging. So many people and situations discourage our children. Let them know you're behind them.

Do be interested. They'll never relate to our world until we've learned to relate to theirs.

Do be observant. Know your daughter well. A lot of communication can be nonverbal. Be sensitive to where she is today.

Do be understanding. Look at your daughter's world and the world at large through her eyes.

Don't be inappropriately angry. When we display our anger in an unhealthy way, the light switch seems to turn off quickly. Communication has ended.

Don't be exasperating. We need to have realistic expectations for our daughter.

Don't be impatient. Growing into adulthood is hard work and takes time, with many trials and errors along the way.

Don't be obnoxious. If our children are not responding to our discipline, we need to find another and better way to encourage better behavior or thought. Don't let walls build up between you and your daughter.

Don't be unyielding. Sometimes we are wrong as moms, or we react inappropriately. Don't be afraid to confess your errors.

2007-08 Yearbook Photos

These are the individual photos of Nina and Olga that we submitted for the yearbook of our local home school group (CHEF - Christian Home Educators' Fellowship). Clearly, our girls are growing up too quickly!

Our Adoption Interview Posted At "From Hope to Reality"

Dan Cruver, Director of Ministry Outreach for Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency, recently asked to interview us on the subject of our adoptions.

Dan posted the interview today at their blog--you can read it HERE.

To God be ALL the glory--He has been so faithful and gracious to our little family!

Nina the Nurturer

As I've mentioned several times already, Nina is our 'little mother'. As far back as our time together in Moscow, she's been mindful of things that need to be done--mostly by others! Ha!

But her 'nurturing' side has been blossoming and wanting to express itself in the form of pet owner.

When we brought our girls home we already had two (indoor) cats. Within the first year we added one (outdoor) dog--a really large one! Several months ago Nina acquired two of her very own goldfish. Now she has her eye (and maybe even her heart) on a hamster.

I may be wrong, but I'm thinking two cats and a hamster won't be a very good mix. Still, I love seeing this side of our Nina!