July 28, 1997

This is a day that completely and totally changed my life forever. The reason for this is that on this day i became a mommy. So today we celebrate the person who made me such. (well, not my husband, my first born son)
Nathaniel is somewhat of an unusual child. NASA fairly recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of space flight. My oldest son can rattle off most of the significant dates of flights into space, tell you who commanded or piloted what mission, how many days in space it orbited, and even tell you biographical info on most astronauts. However, if I ask him to pick up his laundry, he forgets. What is it about men and their selective memories???
Which brings me to my real point. My little baby boy is growing up. He no longer needs me the way he once did. If he is hungry or thirsty, he knows where the kitchen is located. Don't get me wrong, he still does the occasional "MOO-OOM, I'm hungry!!" But not because he is too small to fend for himself.
He is something of of a learning experience for my husband and myself. He is the first one to be born, so obviously he is the first to do everything else. In some ways that is good. But in others (like being the first to get grounded) is not so good. He is the first to form a life outside of us. I guess that is what makes things seem a little strange.
He is, for a boy growing up in this day and age, very innocent. He is very pure of heart. Yes he has his moments of not being perfect, but who doesn't? Overall he is the kind of boy any mom (especially this one) can be proud of. So go ahead and let him rattle off ten million space facts a day to me. I know that it will not be long before there is some other woman who is there everyday to listen to his wealth of knowledge. But at least for now, it is still me. Here are some picture of his party. I feel like a terrible mom for his party not being "more" than what it was. I had planned to serve "astronaut food" (ie Tang and granola bars) but things the past week have been a little weird around here. Also his guest list was shortened because some of his buddies were not in town, some could not make it for one reason or another and his cake really did not look like a moon. I know there are a lot worse things in life than the cake not looking moonish enough, but that really bothered me.


The cake. Complete with a model lunar landing module he bought at the gift shop of the Marshall Space Flight Center.


The cake with my future astronaut (who is currently my little astro-nut


Still enough of a little boy to ask for toy cars


For I think the past four or five years he has gotten this along art supplies from sister for his birthday. You would not believe ho happy he is to get this. He draws and makes paper crafts ALL THE TIME!!!


Enjoying tilapia fillets for supper.


And yes, Benjamin lost his other front tooth!!!

I Have Lost All Faith In the Child Welfare Program

Recently a girl came to visit the land of boys for a few days. Normally if this happens it is a very happy time. However, this particular girl was awakened Tuesday morning by a social worker and people from the sheriff's office. This girl lives in a tough situation with her mom and her mom's boyfriend. The mom's boyfriend has numerous times gotten drunk, thrown the mom and her two girls out of his house, and is very likely to yell at them. This I knew. What I did NOT know is that every night he makes girl and little sister give him goodnight kisses. He tickles them on the leg or the chest area and when they tell him to stop, he does not. They have to yell and the mom has to get involved to get him to stop. Girl's friend's aunt called and reported this. So I get a call asking if girl can come to our house for a few days. (sister is visiting relatives at the time)
Social worker, mom, and girl come over. Social worker has me sign ONE paper and gives me guardianship rights to girl. No showing ID, no background check, not even wanting to know my husband's name. Just one piece of paper. the only rule was girl could have no contact with mom's boyfriend while "investigation" is going on. Mom and girl get into a yelling match. Social worker and mom leave.
Girl's mom calls. They continue the shouting. Mom proceeds to tell me how bad of a mom girl's friend's mom is. Girl's friend has no right to say anything about what has happened. Girl and mom yell more. Girl's mom tells her she is going to have to move out of state to live with grandparents because "this is HIS house" Girl cries.
I call friend who is also social worker. Find out what it would take to let girl be a part of our family. Basically, another piece of paper. But mom has to agree. Mom does not.
Wednesday, mom calls back. Tells girl she has two options: move in with grandparents or move back home. Moving home means changing the way she dresses (which btw would happen here) meaning no butt shorts or spaghetti strap tops. No contact at all with girl whose aunt called dhr, grounded from everything but school and church. Apparently though, this does not raise a red flag to DHR. This does not say "hey, maybe mom thinks this guy really is a creep who can't control himself around little girls," the way it does to me.
Thursday, social worker goes to talk to mom's boyfriend. Tells him he is not allowed to put his hands on girl. Comes here to talk to girl. Talks, then says she can go home. A precious girl is in a bad situation and there is nothing I can do. She got put back into a home where her own mother cares more about her boyfriend than her kids. Mark and I are both sick about it. When Samuel found out we were taking her back he said, "But this is your home. You live here now." Oh, if only the system knew what little kids know.

Hmmm.... Something to Ponder

Recently my husband Mark had a conversation at church that set my thoughts in motion. A guy from his company who is gay opened up to Mark and started asking why so many "Christians" use such hate speech when talking to or about homosexuals. He mentioned Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and the Godhatesfags people. He was really shaken and told Mark that he was born that way-he would never choose homosexuality.
Mark, of course, jumped on the chance to talk to this guy. He obviously was careful about choosing words to make sure he did not come across in a judgemental, God-hates-you-and-your-kind of way, but not sugar-coating or or twisting God's word. So he told that we are ALL born with a sinful nature. We ALL have bad desires, bad thoughts, etc. What we choose to do with those desires is what separates the Christians from the non-Christians.
He also went on to explain that in Christianity, like with almost anything, there are people who will go too far to one extreme or another on an issue. If all we talk about is one attribute of God, we can really the miss the BIG picture. If we only talk about His wrath and hate of sin, we can really only see a hate filled, scary God, one who we afraid of displeasing. Many people who only see this type of God give up on the thought of even trying to please Him, so they do their own thing, never wanting any part of Christianity. Others only focus on His holiness. They take the verse" Be holy, just as I am holy" to the extreme. They think that following certain rules about how they dress, how many times a week they go to a church service, or pray makes them better than others. Still other people see that and want no part of it. So there are more being pushed away. Then there are those who focus only on God's love. OK, granted, we all like to hear about how God made us special and He loves us very much. But if all we is how much He loves and that love was so extreme that Christ died for us, we can kind of forget that we are all depraved. Sometimes it is almost like we forget that our sinfulness is what He died for. We are all sinful. Even you. Even me, the preacher's wife. Even my wonderful preacher husband.
So anyway, I said all of that really to make this point: homosexuality is a sin. The Bible says in multiple places that it is a sin. Sin is punishable by death. Before you think I am spreading hate, please keep reading. The Bible also says in multiple places, might I add, that disrespect to parents is a sin. (gee... should we all go out and stone our kids when they sass us? Would there be any people who live beyond the teenage years?) Want to hear more things that are not listed just once or twice? Idolaters, murderers, adulterers, blasphemers, sorcerers, thieves, liars, lazy people, effeminate men, and last, but certainly not least: GOSSIPERS. Gossip is talked about soo many times in the Bible, but do you know where I hear the most(and the meanest) gossip, well, other middle and high school? CHURCH. Not just any one particular church I have attended. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
What if pastors really started pushing any sin the way some do homosexuality? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying "hey let's ignore this sin" All I am trying to say is that maybe if we had our priorities straight, we would try to deal with sin of all rather than pick one certain group and beat them over the head until they do not want to attend church. All sin is serious. Anything we hold on to and do not repent of is something that gets in the way of our relationship with God. Maybe, just maybe, if we pray about our own sins as much as we condemn others, we would grow closer to God and be more effective at bring Him glory.

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How Dinosaurs Became Extinct

Many scientists over the years have pondered the question "What caused the dinosaurs to become extinct?" There are those who believe that the Ice Age killed them. There are others who believe that a meteor struck the earth and caused the sudden death of the entire race of dinos. I have traveled back in time to once and for all put all theories to rest. With the help of my trusty camera to document the proof, I will solve this ancient mystery. Please be warned: these photos contain graphic images. Anyone who is faint of heart might not be able to handle it. For the rest of you, the curious lot, keep reading and your questions will be answered.
Notice the Giant Candycornasaurus and the herd of friendly Mini Toysonthetops co-existing in peace and harmony.





Along comes the Birthday Boyraptor, seeming happy and innocent, but secretly plotting how to get his claws on some Candy Corn Spikes.



Behold: the mighty savage warriors known as boysandgirlsataparty come out of their caves to celebrate one of their own making it through one more tough prehistoric year.


Notice how the savages are all wearing looks of total satisfaction as they devour the helpless dinos.




The carnivorus Auntosaurus Rex toys with her food before eating it.


Behold the destruction left behind.


What about the mighty T-Rex? Did he die out from famine when all the others were eaten up like some books say he might have? The pictures prove otherwise:


First we see the mighty Samuel armed with the ultimate weapon: a Sith Lightsaber.


Uh-oh, the T-rex is too powerful for the lightsaber to do any real damage.





How about a tennis racket?


Nope again


Big Brothers even get in on the action



To no avail





The final weapon that Sir Samuel chooses: a drumstick(?)




Ha-ha!! Not so mighty now!!


Behold!!! the first piece of bubble-gum!



Oops, looks like Rexie is losing his mind (I warned you this was going to be graphic!!)


Victory belongs to Sir Samuel, Dinoslayer!!!


Goodbye, Dinosaurs!!!


One more non-dino pic: Benjamin FINALLY lost the tooth that has been loose since MAY!!!! HOORAY!!!!

The Birthday is Finally Here!!!!

Today is Samuel's fifth birthday. He is soooo excited!!! He has been counting down the days for a week now. He is such a precious little boy. He is having a dinosaur party tonight. We should have lots and lots of fun. I have to brag on my little(oops, I mean BIG) Sambert for a while. His is the labor and delivery that I do not like to talk about for fear that some poor, unsuspecting pregnant lady might be nearby. He is also the unexpected blessing given to our family. We were talking about not having any more children, and SURPRISE!!!-pregnant again. He is the greatest surprise ever. He is sweet. Oh he is so sweet. He especially has a tender heart when it comes to small and weak things. He loves animals, especially the small ones. He wants to go feed the ducks at the park almost every day. He likes to make sure the big ducks do not get all the food from the baby ducks. He also has a tender spot for the powerless. He prays daily for orphans. If one of his friends is hurt he tries to comfort them and he prays for them. Oh- and I almost forgot to mention that he is talented. He is a singer. He has even made up a few songs. When our Math U See order came in, the boys had a blast with the blocks. Nathaniel and Benjamin built airplanes with them. Samuel built a stage, and then a little Samuel to sing on that stage. He gets up with Mark occasionally to lead the music at church. He is brave and fearless (which is sometimes not my favorite thing about him). He even helps others be brave. Benjamin has always been somewhat of a scaredy cat. When he sees his little brother do something, it lets him know that it is safe. So here's to my little (BIG I mean) gift from above: May he always remain talented and not shy, bold but tender, and full of love and compassion.

This is him with Mark the puppy

My Other Kids

We recently got to spend some time with kids visiting Birmingham from Poltava Orphanage in Ukraine. This was our second year to be involved with Reach Orphans With Hope. They are an orphan care ministry that helps kids in Ukraine to understand that God has a purpose for their lives. Last year when we went the only words I knew in Russian were yes, no, and juice. This year I visited a website called Mango Languages for free Russian lessons. I knew how to say hello, how are you, what is your name, my name is Kelli, and goodbye. That is still soo not enough. My husband and I have decided we are really going to make learning Russian a priority. It would be so great to really get to talk to these kids. They are so precious. I wish that we could adopt several of them. There were some last year that i just wanted to bring home right on the spot. This year was no different. I have a few pictures giving a glimpse of what we got to do.

Our youth that went


Andriy sharing his ring pop with a DOG!!!! (the dog was behind the picnic table)


Sergiy showing off the blue mouth he got from his ring pop


The guys from our group got STOMPED at soccer


Samuel and Artem on the slip and slide


Artur was cold when the water hit him


Everybody liked the slip and slide


More slip and slide fun


It started to rain so we went inside for some indoor fun


Tanya shows off the hat she made


I think Jordan and Matt had as much fun as any of the kids


Vlad


Benjamin and Matt


Vicka with an interpreter


Tanya painting a wooden box


Vlad creating


Look what Vlad made!!!


Artur hard at work long after everyone else


Mark and me with Andy


Playing the piano


Sometimes I wonder why we take them places


Legos- the universal language of little boys everywhere



Artem dominating the chessboard, Chris is observing and taking notes


Atrem beating Jordan, Chris is praying that he does well


Aha! Checkmate. Mulah dietz, Artem!!!

There are so many things that pictures do not tell, like how precious the children are, how they are so appreciative of just little gifts like pillows and yo-yos. They love it when you smile at them or just talk to them. I wish I had a camera that could capture their expression when I said some of the few words I could in Russian. I wish that I could find homes for all of them. They are flying home as type these words. Some of them will once again get to experience what it is like to have someone say "I love you, you are special, " things like that. Unfortunately, most of them will not. Please pray for these children, as well as the rest of the over 100,000 other orphan children in Ukraine.