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We have lived in Romania for 16 years now. We have 6 kids. The top photo of our family is the day we met the twins, just before their 4th birthday. We were granted custody of them on their 5th birthday.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Good News!


I want to share the good news with everyone...we were granted custody of the twins today! We are so excited. We brought them home with us today and tomorrow is their
5th birthday. We still have to take them back in a couple of weeks for them to stay for a waiting period where any family member has the right to come in and protest the decision. We don't expect any protest since no family member has been in their lives for all 5 years but be in prayer that everything goes through smoothly.
We are so thankful. The picture was taken at McDonalds after we picked them up today. We met an American family there and they took a picture for us. Thank you all for praying.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Easter

These pictures were taken by our neighbors. Each year for Easter they borrow some bunnies from a friend of theirs for the day so the boys went to pet them and visit with the cute little bunnies.







We celebrated Easter yesterday. It was a wonderful day. I love the resurrection songs and really want to incoporate them into our times of worship more often then just Easter! We had a full house, 19 kids...that is a lot for my little Sunday School room. Quite a few of those kids are from a tough backgrounds, they have been known to beg on the streets and several of them go to a special school because they have some form of mental handicapped although not severe. We fought hard to keep things under control...as it got closer to the Easter hunt though it got harder and harder. I got a group shot of the kids and will post it after I down load it.
After church Sunday evening, we invited those in attendance to our house for food and fellowship. It was a relaxing and fun time. I always feel I get to fellowship with the people when we are at our house in a more relaxed setting. Sunday's are so busy for me I feel like I barely say hello to people. Most everyone left around 9 p.m. but several stayed on for a round of Settlers.

Today is a relaxed day. Everything is closed so we are just hanging out and relaxing too. The boys are currently on a treasure hunt. We will leave this afternoon for Marghita. The boys will stay with some friends of ours. We will go to the court house first thing tomorrow morning. We have no idea what kind of a wait we will have. It is a small town so hopefully there won't be a long wait.
I'll be updating you all as soon as I can on the result. Keep praying!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Court Date

Our Court Date is April 21!!!

Modesty

I know I normally just write about what is going on in my family life but this topic has been on my heart lately...modesty in the 21st century...does it exist? I have no idea really who reads this blog or if this entry will turn you off but I am struck lately by just how immodest women dress...including women who call themselves followers of Christ. My sons turn away in embarassement when they see a women in revealing clothes...I pray this heart remains in them as they get older. I notice that many people either harp on womens dress and give a specific list of what they can and can't wear or they steer completely clear of this subject.

I just wonder, as the mother of boys, will they be able to find a women of character who cares enough about them and other Christian brothers who is willing to not dress in a way that provokes sensual thoughts...I sure hope so! So, what exactly does modesty mean? I found a good definition by C.J. Mahaney in his 7 part series called, "God, My Heart, and Clothes." He says, "Modesty means propriety. It means avoiding clothes and adornment that are extravagant or sexually enticing. Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It’s a desire to serve others, particularly men, by not promoting or provoking sensuality.

Immodesty, then, is much more than wearing a short skirt or low-cut top; it’s the act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It’s pride, on display by what you wear.

Self-control is, in a word, restraint. Restraint for the purpose of purity; restraint for the purpose of exalting God and not ourselves. Together, these attitudes of modesty and self-control should be the hallmark of the godly woman’s dress."

I guess what disturbs me most is that Christian women don't even seem to want to discuss modesty or hear any type of teaching on this. When they hear someone start to speak on this they yell, "Legalist! Don't you know I am free from a list of rules!" I was one of these women when I first finished college. My parents had never been overly strict with me but when I got married and left home and left the Christian college I attended I was shouting, "hey no rules, I can wear what I want!" I think what started me thinking about this modesty subject again is the fact that I am trying to raise 5 sons to be lovers of God and to keep their minds pure. We live in a day where a man must choose where to turn his eyes for fear of seeing pornography right on the street. When all we can do is think about our freedom to dress as we want instead of realizing that how I dress is an outward expression of what is in my heart then that is when Christian women stop thinking about their Christian brothers and start dressing because we are "free".

"A woman who focuses on worshiping God will consider carefully how she is dressed, because her heart will dictate her wardrobe and appearance."(John MaCarthur)

I'll close with this quote from C.J. Mahaney's article on modesty and hope that you prayerfully consider whether this is an area you as a women need to work on or you as a man need to be more attentive to when it comes to your wife and daughters:

"There’s an inseparable link between your heart and your clothes. Your clothes say something about your attitude. If they don’t express a heart that is humble, that desires to please God, that longs to serve others, that’s modest, that exercises self-control, then change must begin in the heart.

For modesty is humility expressed in dress."