A Sister's Letter to Oskar

There has been SO.MUCH.GOING.ON.
I cannot keep up.
I wish that I could be FOUR people to address the multitude of intense needs that pull me in every direction.
But I cannot.
I have wondered, "How in the world do I blog about all this stuff?" 
And I still do not have an answer.
But last night, my 13 year old shared her poem with me that brought me to my knees. And I knew…I wanted to share it with you. (she has agreed)

Sweet little Oskar, I cannot wait!

There are so many things to do

There are cookies to eat and things to create

And I will do so much with you!

I’ll feed you your breakfast and rock you to sleep

And then as you grow older

We’ll go to the pool and swim in the deep 

And make snowmen when it gets colder

Today I heard something Oskar, I don’t believe it’s true

No my brother don’t leave me behind

I never even got to meet you

What about all of those things I hoped for? 

The fun that we would have had?

Oh God please don’t shut Oskar’s door

Don’t you realize that this is bad?

Dear brother, you will never feel a summer breeze blow soft

Or make fun forts with our dad up in the hay loft

I want you to blow out your candles

I want to hear your voice

No stocking saying “Oskar” on the mantle

No Oskar sound or noise

Jesus please bring him back

The younger ones miss him so

He is a special boy our family lacks

He who we never got to know

None of us understand, dear Lord

We’ll never hear his cry

We’ll never hear his laugh oh Lord

Why did you let him die?

Please, Lord Almighty, we beg you

Jesus, give us peace

We know where he is off to

But we long to see his happy face

Dear Oskar, please don’t worry

We’re coming soon after you

We really want to hurry

Have you, dear, missed us too?

We can all peacefully rest now, boy

For we know where you are

In a place with love, purity, and joy

And Jesus to eternally rest on

I know that you aren’t here

But I’m sure you perfect and smart

Oskar, you may be in Heaven

But you will always be in our hearts

Who is/was Oskar? He was our 2nd son…born still at 39 weeks. You can read his story by clicking the tab at the top of the blog, "Our son Oskar." 7 years have passed, but we will always miss him.

Call to Prayer for Russian Orphans

My children, perhaps like many, are playing "Olympics."
They are sliding around in stocking feet making the "beep-beep-BEEEP" sound (ready-set-go) and clinging on to each other's shirts riding imaginary bobsleds, they are pretending to be speed skaters, and even getting their bikes out and riding attempting to ride on the ice-covered driveway.
They are so fun!
And then, I remember HIM.
Vitaliy.
You can read a post I wrote about his can't-be-family HERE.
And recently, I received a plea from his mama to pray.
He has been transferred to a mental institution.
{my breath sucks in at this reality.}
Putin will not allow Americans adopt their orphans.
I cried and cried.
Oh God, RESCUE!!!!
^{Psalm 10:17-18} O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

This is a story done by a German TV station about the state of Russian orphanages. Vitaliy is mentioned in this piece. You can view this here: German TV report.

Photo by Kate Brooks

Then I stumbled onto these images by Kate Brooks. They are REAL and they are PAINFUL.

Photo by Kate Brooks

And we must pray.
We know Vitaliy is one of these children now.
Pray with me on his behalf and for all the orphans in Russia today.
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

² In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
³ For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses^[a] and renounces theLord.
⁴ In the pride of his face^[b] the wicked does not seek him;^[c]
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
⁵ His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
⁶ He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
⁷ His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
⁸ He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
⁹ he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
¹⁰ The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
¹¹ He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

¹² Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
¹³ Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
¹⁴ But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.

¹⁶ The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
¹⁷ O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
¹⁸ to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 10

Hey Valentine, Love Endlessly!

So many of you supported our adoption process of all THREE of our treasures from afar.
HOW WE THANK YOU.
We could never have brought them home without you.
And we OH HOW WE treasure having them in our arms!!!!
So many of you ordered our most recent shirts…the "Love endlessly" ones that spawned from a painting I made for the art auction. 
We did not order extras, and many people saw them and wanted to order!
Well, we've got a little surprise for you: THEY ARE BACK!!!

This time, we are doing a solid red heart with all white print. These will be available in tees and hoodies in your choice of grey or pink.

Think love.
Think Valentine's Day!

We are also using different shirts. These will be printed on heavy Gildan sweatshirt hoodies; unisex Gildan "softstyle" for grey tees (a relaxed fit that is soft…the same as our Chosen shirts); a junior fit women's style on pink (so these run small…order 1-2 sizes up for comfort) and youth sizes for both tees and hoodies!
With all this snow this year, you can't have enough hoodies!! (At least we can't around here!) The youth hoodies are available in both colors but in sizes medium (10-12) and large (12-14).
The funds will go to alleviate our debt from Esty's emergency hospital stays in Guangzhou. After that amount is raised we will donate all our profits to our fabulous friends, the Coles, who are embarking upon yet another {surprise!} adoption…the biological sibling to their most recent adopted Ava!!
Go here to order yours!! 
Love endlessly!!

Toby's Journey - Southwest Airlines Medical Transportation Grant Program

We were so honored to be featured to represent the Southwest Airlines Medical Transportation Grant Program. I'm really not sure how they chose us, but after 4 days of filming, this is the end product. I love that Toby's joy is so beautifully displayed.



You can read my guest blog post on their blog here.