THE JOHNSON CHRONICLES

Small Group

2012-01-21T07:42:00.001-08:00

Pam and I will be facilitating a new "Small Group" from our church, Community Church of Chesapeake. We met last night for the very first time. We are a set of 4 families that all live within a mile or so of each other, so we share geographical closeness as a commonality. We all have children. Some are home-schooled, and some public.

We also hosted two missionary couples last night, because this weekend is missionary weekend at church. One couple participates in "church planting" in the inner city of Norfolk. The other couple is preparing to move to La Paz, Mexico to work at a youth outreach camp. Both couples were able to tell us about what they are doing and what their visions are for what they are doing.

The theme for this weekend at church is "How will they know...?" Our church is VERY mission focused; 30%+ of our church budget goes to mission work, both locally and abroad. Pam and I are very mission minded so, we feel this church is where we belong.

We'll try to keep updating about what's going on there.

Jesus Vs Religion -

2012-01-15T03:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Pam's Birthday! Yup, on Friday the 13th. She handled it well.

So what will 2012 bring?

Leah is graduating from High School, she plans to attend a local community college.
Joey has braces coming (to expand his upper palette), (his 3rd set of braces).
July, will be our 3rd year in this house (the longest Pam and I have lived - anywhere).
June will be my 3rd year at my job with the IRS. (Longest I've held a single job since retiring from the USAF) I still love my job, which is fantastic. And, Yes, one can be a Bible believing Christian and be a tax collector at the same time. Trust me, I prayed about this.
We're praying on whether we want to home-school the younger ones in the next school year or not. We know plenty of the pros/cons. It's a matter of whether it's something we really WANT to do.
We've been keeping our eyes open for a rental home that would be better suitable - our "Wants" are to stay in the same high school district, larger kitchen, larger dining room, and a bathtub in the master bath. Of course, we're hoping the keep the cost of it down. That last part is what's keeping us in this house.

I'm watching these kid-lets grow and mature (mostly). It is absolutely amazing to watch God at work in their lives. I love to watch or hear them play and/or work together while Pam and I are in another part of the house. I still love to hear their stories from school. I'm sad when one of their friends move away or when they lose a friend who has become less of a friend. I laugh at the silliness that kids get to be. I try to ease their tension on upcoming events - like the ACT for Leah or weekly tests for Zoe. Spring soccer season is coming soon. Busy, busy, busy.

I want this year to be a memorable one. I want it to be one the kids can hang memories on and say I remember 2012 because... Not all years can be like that, sometimes that's good, sometimes not. When I try to think back, there are plenty of years that just blended in with the rest. That's why life seems so short as we get older, because the years just blend in with the day-to-day grind. The sun comes up, the sun goes down, and the man works to feed his family.

I guess it really boils down to me trying to do things that will help them have memories to hang on to, huh? Well, I better get started then.

Blessings

Juan

Another Year coming to an end

2011-12-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

The end of 2011 is coming down the stretch! The kids are looking forward to Christmas, of course. What happened? I laid down to take a nap this summer and the next thing I know, I'm thinking about what we're doing for Christmas and New Year.

The Lord has kept us safe and secure. I don't know how any of you think about things, but prior to now, Pam and I have lived such a tension filled life together, that we actually looked at the possibility of a normal life with apprehension. Over the past12 years we've had a multitude of job gains and losses, and we've lived in 7 different cities in 9 different houses/apartments.

We gained 7 children and 2 grandchildren, and we lost one child. Our children span in ages from 10 to 36. So many different personalities, needs and wants. There are adults, high school, middle school, and elementary school students. We have one graduating this spring and that is weighing on our minds. Mine especially.

The kids at home are all strong and healthy. They are all Christians. It doesn't get any better than that. Now life is school, soccer, laundry and trips to the dentist.

I'm loving it.

Let's try this again

2011-11-15T02:37:00.001-08:00

It has been a year since I've done this, so I'm a little rusty at it. I actually miss the writing. Admittedly, I actually was burned out by the time we closed this down the last time.

In the year since we last "talked", not a whole lot has transpired, with me in particular, that is note worthy. I still have the same job (2 1/2 years now). I haven't picked up any hobbies. I tried to build the boys a loft bed - total disaster! I'm not good with my hands and no amount of wishing and trying has improved that...so far.

I've lost 15lbs! Whoohoo! That's something.

Anyway...I'm looking forward to spending some quality time here and hope to even develop a few cyber "friends" along the way.

"Talk" to you later.

Blessings
Juan

Adoption Month

2011-11-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

A short Story.......

When every baby is born they are given a blanket. This blanket is supposed to be warm and soft and protective. It usually has beautiful colors and satin edging. It is wrapped around the baby and the baby is at peace.

Sometimes, the blanket is old. It hasn't been washed and it is made of burlap, but it is wrapped around the baby, and even though it is a little smelly and scratchy, the baby is at peace.

The blanket for this baby has big problems. There are holes in it. It looks like it had satin edging once, but that has been torn away. It may have had soft pastel colors, but it is now a dull and dirty brownish grey. It is wrapped as best it can be around the baby, and the baby clings to it for peace. But the baby is cold and can't get comfortable. Now, both the baby and the blanket are dirty and smelly, but it is the baby's blanket, and baby holds on to what little comfort it knows, and tries to have peace.

Suddenly, the blanket is ripped away. Baby cries and reaches for the blanket, but it is gone. Baby knows it wasn't a good blanket, a warm and soft blanket, but it was baby's, and with it baby knew the only peace that baby has ever known.
Someone has wrapped a new blanket around baby. It has pretty satin edging and soft fleece. It smells fresh and inviting, but baby throws it off. That is NOT Baby's blanket. Where is baby's blanket? Baby cries and cries as the new blanket is wrapped back around baby's body. Baby notices warmth that baby has never felt before. This is a trick. Yes it is warm, but IT IS NOT MINE!!!!! Baby had better not get used to this. Baby doesn't have a warm, soft blanket. Baby only knows the scratchy, dirty and cold blanket. Baby kicks it away.

Baby is cold and lonely and misses the old blanket.

Baby toys with the edge of the new blanket. Baby feels that it is soft and inviting. Baby can tell it is warm. Maybe baby will just hold the edge of this blanket for a while. It is not baby's blanket, but it is here, and baby is sad and needs comfort.
Someone keeps trying to wrap the whole blanket around baby, but baby still throws it off. Baby will only hold the edge. Why won't baby take the blanket? Can't baby see how much better this blanket is? It is warm, it is soft. Come on, it is polar fleece!! What is baby's problem? It is such a great blanket!!
Baby continues to reject the entire blanket, but is still holding on to the edge. Eventually, baby can cover one arm and rub baby's face with more of the blanket, but baby stops short of wrapping up in it. The new blanket providers have stopped trying to force baby to wrap up in the blanket, and have accepted that baby can't or won't use the whole thing, and have settled on waiting on baby. Sometimes baby brings the blanket to them and asks them to drape it over baby's arm in just the right way so that the satin edge touches baby's face the way baby likes it. This continues for a time and baby realizes that even though baby misses the old blanket, baby has a peace that baby has not known before. Baby thinks it might be this new blanket. Baby is torn. Baby misses old blanket, but old blanket didn't protect baby like new blanket does. New blanket is warm. New blanket smells good and is so very soft.

Old blanket is gone.

One day, baby needs help with the new blanket. Baby takes it to the ones who gave it to baby and they wrap it gently around baby's shoulders. Baby holds on tight to the blanket and baby is at peace.
*****
I know I talk about a baby in this story. I do it so you think about just how long your "baby" has had that old blanket.

Here we go again!

2011-10-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have missed the blog so here we go again! The Johnson's have stayed busy. Justin is now playing soccer on a travel team. He LOVES it! I guess we as his parents love it- I love that he is doing well and he loves it! We do a lot of car travel these days.... The youngest kids ( Jaden, Zoe and Davis ) are playing soccer also- This fall their birthdays fall so that all 3 are on the same team (9 and 10 year old's ). In the Spring we will go back to 2 teams for them and Ana plays for school in the Spring- Boy soccer is fun! Joey is back to his skate board and doing lots of jumps. We have a wonderful dog now. Her name is Daisy. I will attach her picture. I hope that you all come along for the ride! Blessings, Pamela

We are SAD to have to do this but.....

2010-12-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Due to various reasons and issues, I have decided to no longer keep this blog up. I want to thank each one of you that has prayed for us and has helped my family in many many ways.
I wish you all a very Blessed Christmas season, celebrating Christ's Birthday and a very Happy new 2011.

If you want to get in contact with me, please just email- thanks

Blessings, Pamela

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANALYSE AND DAVIS

2010-11-27T15:44:00.001-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANALYSE AND DAVIS
16 and 9 wow-
And both of their names mean Grace in their native country.
We love you both so much!
We have a wonderful dinner and 2 kinds of cake!
Both of you make your dad and I very proud. And best of all, you both know Jesus.

Blessings, Pam

I Quess With a Big Family there is Always CAKE!

2010-11-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

Our son turned into a teenager yesterday!-- JJ is 13! - He is so cute too. He is on his way to a soccer game. His love.

November brings birthdays- JJ yesterday, Ana and Davis share a birthday on the 29th (and they share that with my sister too) Heather's birthday was in November too- the 18th, that day will be hard for me. November is a busy month.

The Big 5 - 0

2010-10-22T03:55:00.000-07:00

Today is my 5oth birthday!

I remember being a teenager actually trying to imagine what the year 2000 would be like. I tried to imagine what I would look like or be like when I turned 40. I had never tried to imagine being 50.

Now...I am still enjoying excellent health,
I have the best wife in the world,
I have a house full of 7 beautiful kids,
I have a job I love.
And best of all....I have Jesus!

In 1960

John F Kennedy won election for president against Richard Nixon (by only 113,000 votes)
The first 3500 soldiers were sent to Viet Nam
Unemployment was 5.5%
The first working laser was built
The first communication satellite was launched
Cassius Clay (later known as Mohammad Ali) won his first pro fight.
Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series
Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.
Average yearly income was $5,260
Average new home cost $12,700
US population was 180,671,158
The birth control pill was made available to the public
Ray Charles won 4 Grammy awards
"Ben-Hur" won the Oscar for Best Picture
Domino Pizza was founded

Life in the normal family...

2010-10-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

I just watched my Mimi drive off in Mom's car for the first time...all by herself!!

Tonight we were talking about how this January is our 10th anniversary, and how we expect a huge shindig for our 25th (Lord's return, not withstanding) because we don't want to wait for our 50th (I'd be 90); we might not make it that long.

We try to come up with jobs that the kids could do outside of their normal chores, so they could make a little cash on the side. We're not in the Rockefeller's strata, so $4-5 is about all we can afford for each. We don't do allowance.

I still love my job, and it's has been over a year. That and I work an 8 hour day with all the holidays on top of it.

Our dog Daisy is growing and maturing (not always a lot of the latter, but a lot of the former).

Well, I have to go cut the boys' hair.

This normal life is definitely all that it's cracked up to be. I like it.
Juan.

Baptism Day!

2010-09-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

The Johnson Family - In more ways than one!!

Today, we drove down to the Outer Banks and went to our old church (Nags Head Church). We saw our friends and invited anyone who could come to go with us to the Sound after the gathering. Our good friends, Brenda, Pat, Linda, Gary, Nate, Trish, Gwyneth, and Sam joined us. We had almost postponed the baptism, because it was supposed to rain on and off all day. But the Lord held off the rain until we were on our way home this afternoon. Then in came down in buckets!!

Did you catch the huge smile on Dad's face with each one? It doesn't EVER get any better than this. To see your child begin his/her journey with Jesus is the greatest thrill in my life. That is what the parenthood is all about, as far as I'm concerned. I can read all the parenting books, watch all the videos, go to all the seminars, and cry all my tears...but until they come to know the Lord for their own, I've accomplished nothing. They may become successful, and useful citizens along the way, but if they don't have Jesus, they don't have anything. I can adopt 25 kids, give them every opportunity available to them, and love them to spoildem, but if I don't make the salvation of their souls my #1 priority, I'm wasting my time, energy, money, and efforts. I have done nothing for them. I might as well leave them where they are.

Thank you Jesus for putting us where you did and for putting us where we are. We aren't anywhere near successful by the world's standard, but you have blessed us beyond measure. I am the richest man on this planet. And because I know the hereafter and know that You will be there in heaven and that Pam and our children will be there to meet me some day - I have no fear of death.

The Lord Has Smiled on This Family

2010-09-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Last night some of the kids were looking at pictures we have on our computer and they came across the picture of when I baptized Analyse. Zoe saw it and said, "Dad, I want to be baptized." So, I sat and talked to Justin, Zoe and Jaden about what baptism is and what it means. Then I questioned them as to what they believed about Jesus. Praise the Lord! Each of them was able to articulate about Jesus being the Son of God, about His perfection, His sacrifice for their sins, and His wanting them to go to Heaven to be with Him when they die.

Tonight I talked with them again, and this time I included Davis in the conversation because he wasn't with them last night. I felt comfortable with their level of maturity, their understanding and heard their confessions of faith. I then lead them in the sinner's prayer for their salvation.

Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus!

Davis then asked me, "Dad can we get baptized now?" Reminded me of the Ethiopian who met Philip along the road. Interesting - mine are Ethiopian! I guess that make me a Philip, of sorts.

The Lord has smiled on this family. We were given seven little souls to care for. We wanted to be a blessing to them and they bless us continually. Pam and I had at one time prepared to be missionaries - yet the Lord brought these souls to us and has drawn ALL of them unto Himself.

Can a parent ask for anything more? Not on this planet!

Lord Jesus I bless your name! Lord I love your wisdom and strength! Lord you are power and majesty beyond the sun, moon and the multitude of stars. I can not fathom your love and patience. You have lifted my head and called me blessed. Help me to know how to disciple your children that you have put in my care. Give me strength to be who you want me to be for them.

AMEN

What's in a Name?

2010-09-18T17:41:00.001-07:00

Each of our "chosen" kids were given a new name when we adopted them. They retain their birth names as their middle names so they don't think they have been completely scrubbed clean of their past. We've even kept their "last names" as a second middle name. What we call "last names" here in America are actually their birth father's first names. It took us awhile to figure this out. It also clarified why the adoption agency put "Juan" as their middle names...all six of them from Ethiopia. When Pam and I began this journey of adoption we didn't put a great deal of thought into the name we gave Dylan, a.k.a. Joey. We just wanted to be sure it didn't sound dorky, funny, hard to pronounce, eternally immature, or that the initials didn't give him a weird acronym.

Dylan is Welsh for God of the Sea. Okay, definitely not your typical "Bible" name. When we brought home our last three, he decided he'd liked to be called Joey. Joey was a nick name that Pam wanted to call him from his middle name Joseph. He was aware of this so I think this was Joey's way of being closer to Mom.

Leah is Hebrew for weary. This is name of the first wife of Jacob in Genesis. Recently Leah has requested that we call her Mimi. I like that, it's kind of hard to switch names, but I'm getting used to it. Mimi was a nickname that she had in Ethiopia, so I think it's her way of reaching back to something familiar.

Analyse is a combination of Hannah and Elizabeth. Hannah means Grace in Hebrew and Elizabeth is Hebrew for My God is a vow. Coincidentally, Analyse's birth name, Tseganesh is Amharic for Grace. She wants us to call her Anna. I'm not sure why other than it make her feel more informal.

Justin is Latin for righteous or just. We now call him JJ, because there is another kid on his soccer team called Justin and it cuts down confusion on the field.

Zoe is Greek for Life, and it's also a Greek letter. No nick name yet.

Jaden is Hebrew for God has heard. No nick name yet.

Davis is a form of David, which is Hebrew for Beloved. I love that! No nick name yet.

Occasionally they try out new nick names and see if they stick. I'm normally the one that bursts their bubbles on one that I don't like. Nick names tend to be earned for whatever reason, so some of them may be a long time coming. We'll see.

Juan

WOW

2010-09-06T04:25:00.000-07:00

WOW!

Having 7 kids in 3 different schools ALL with the "meet and greet" on the SAME night- I am not sure who thinks these things up- and I know that I am not the only parent with more than 1 kid in more than 1 school- what a nightmare! The schools are not right next door to each other either! We did it and all of the kids met their teachers and all seem to be happy about going back to school tomorrow.

Soccer started for 2 of the kids a few weeks ago and starts tomorrow for 3 more of them- 5 kids in 4 different age and teams. ;) (did I say that Leah (a.k.a. Mimi) will be getting her drivers license in the next week or so- yea!!)

We have turned the corner with several of our kids this summer- the break through has been just a miracle- Only God- and we are so thankful- It is definitely easier and a lot more fun being a parent when the child wants to be here and be part of the family!

Blessings, Pam

Where did the Summer GO???

2010-08-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

WOW- It is almost time for school- where did the summer go? It seems like yesterday the kids were just getting out of school-- It has been a busy summer and everyone had a lot of fun.
My grand kids came for a few weeks.
We spent time at the ocean- both Virgina Beach and the Outer Banks- (Thank you Brenda and Linda!!!)
Saw grandparents and helped celebrate their special day.
Daddy had another out of state 3 week class and we survived with no daddy!
Summer is winding down....
Blessings to all
Pamela Dawn

Our newest baby---Daisy

2010-08-14T06:46:00.001-07:00

Isn't she cute? Juan now has a "REAL" dog!! lol

The kids just love her so much-- now my little dog's nose is out of joint! oh well...........

50 Year Anniversary

2010-06-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Maryland. Our family got together to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. What a legacy. As usual, it 2nds as a short family reunion where we get to see cousins and other family members we haven't seen in years/decades. The celebration was held and my sister, Tammy's house and we had 80 some people come to it and it was absolutely beautiful.

My parents have 5 children, 25 grand-children, and 5 great-grand-children. Here are some pictures (forgive the amateur quality). I'll add more if I get any from anyone else.

Juan

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

2010-06-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

Whatever enters their (our sons and husbands) eye gates are forever etched in their brains and it becomes a struggle to erase those images. It's everywhere though ... billboards, magazines, tv, the grocery store, etc.... it's become an unavoidable aspect of our society.

I think that raising a pure child is the hardest calling on parents today. Not only are our little boys bombarded with s*x and lust, but our girls are being bombarded with the "I need to look this way" so boys will like me messages.

But. There is hope.

Fathers.

Fathers are the answer to this problem. Real fathers. Not merely a sperm donor one lonely night who somehow now has "rights" to a human being.

No. Real fathers.
Fathers that lead, guide, sacrfice, love, teach and discipline. They have a HUGE weight on them when it comes to how their son or daughter views the opposite s*x. The sad thing is that most don't even realize it - or care.
The importance of a father has somehow gotten lost in our nation.

In the book " Restoring The Christian Family" (Sanfords), they talk about research which demonstrated the importance of a father's role. They said, "We saw unequivically that unless the hearts of fathers were turned to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, it mattered little what else we taught or did in our churches!"

Furthermore, it was reported that, "between 90 and 95 percent of those in prison have never known the love of a father, and he referred simply to prisoners as 'the fatherless'."...

More recent surveys reveal that fatherless children are five times more likely to commit suicide, thirty-two times more likely to run away, twenty time more likely to have behaviorial disorders, fourteen times more likely to commit rape, nine times more likely to drop out of school, ten times more likely to abuse chemical substances, nine times more likely to end up in a state-operated instituation, and twenty times more likely to end up in prison." It says that today, 24 million ... or 34 % of American children ... are being raised without fathers.
The highest in the world.

So, on this 2010 Father's Day ...

I also challenge all of you dads reading this. I challenge you to start speaking words of blessings over your children - frequently- and watch what God does! Bring life to your kids. Bless them. Be there for them. Lead them. Put aside your selfish ambitions. And be a dad.

You may want to print this out and put it in your wallet. Pull it out from time to time, pull your child up on your lap or call them up on the phone (or if you want to be a techno dad- text him/her this message!), and pour the love of a Father into them:

My child, I love you! You are special. You are a gift from God. I thank God for allowing me to be a father to you. I bless you with the healing of all wounds of rejection, neglect and abuse that you have suffered. I bless you with overflowing peace, the peace that only the Prince of Peace can give, a peace beyond comprehension. I bless your life with fruitfulness—good fruit, much fruit and fruit that remains. I bless you with success. You are the head and not the tail; you are above and not beneath. I bless you with health and strength of body, soul and spirit. I bless you with overflowing prosperity, enabling you to be a blessing to others. I bless you with spiritual influence, for you are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. You are like a tree planted by rivers of water. You will prosper in all your ways. I bless you with a depth of spiritual understanding and a close walk with your Lord. You will not stumble or falter, for the Word of God will be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. I bless you with pure and edifying relationships in life. You have favor with God and man. I bless you with abounding love. You will minister God’s comforting grace to others. You are blessed, my child! You are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.
Amen!

A Little Sand Soccer!

2010-06-15T03:27:00.000-07:00

Justin had SO much fun-- boy was he tired!
The Sabers cam in 2nd in the tournament! Way to GO boys!!!

It has been 3 and 1/2 months....

2010-06-11T04:46:00.000-07:00

It has been three and a 1/2 months and grief has not hit me lately with the hay-maker punch. But He comes in the form of a shadowy emptiness. He forces a few tears and then He leaves. But as far as I can tell there are only two options:

1)Run as hard as you can into the arms of Jesus and stare Grief down. LIVE
2)Dig a hole, crawl into it and cover yourself up. DIE

There is no second option for me.
The love I had for Heather as my daughter is irreplaceable. But now I must go on living. And I must learn how to live well. Yes, there is a time for grief and I know mine is not over. But everyday I walk in victory is one less day I fall in emotional defeat.

Grief is real and He has visited my house and will continue to periodically. However, I refuse to allow him to throw his black cape around me causing my world to darken with hopelessness. No, isn't this one of the main reasons our precious Lord came? Didn't He come to overcome Death and Grief? Then why should I allow them to permeate and dictate my quality of life? But I must choose Life.
I will never completely get over my young daughter dying, But I will learn to be victorious over the sting of such. I will live, love, and laugh. And I plan to view this horrible ordeal as a training ground to learn more of HIM. His Grace is taking many forms these days and currently He is expediting time for my deeply wounded soul to fully recuperate. Whatever tomorrow holds, I plan to hold tightly to His hand. And no, "I'm not merely trying to be "strong" for everyone else. This is really how I feel. I have decided to no longer lock Grief out of my life nor to dread His uninvited visitation. I open the door and welcome Him inside. His bite is not as bad as his bark, although it can be extremely painful. Each time He comes for a visit, he wields less and less power over me. This can only be because Christ has already visited with me before Grief gets there. And that is the key to healing. When Christ carries you, there is nothing you cannot face nor overcome. Oh, how I love Life. It is still good. :)

Heather--- Immediately all kinds of memories and emotions flood the minds of those who knew her well. To craft in words a fully composite picture of who she was would be nearly impossible. Just as impossible is grasping how many lives she affected and touched throughout her own. I will always remember my daughter as a woman who loved life. Her energy was infectious and it was hard for anyone to be around her for very long without being encouraged and uplifted. Her laugh, her smile, and her love for everyone around her is unforgettable and inspiring.
My daughter was one of the most generous and giving individuals I have ever known. Her love for others, her zeal for life, and her determination to drink it all in was founded on her love for others. What a Great example she set in life and love!
She taught me so much about life and how to live well. She taught me about inner strength, boldness, how to think critically,and how to love others.
I miss you Heather.
Love, your Mom

Growing Up

2010-06-10T03:37:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful little tom-boy is growing up! Here she is going to her first dance!

And I made her little party dress! She had a great time at the dance. Lots of girls dancing!

This gal amazes me- I love it and Her! She won the Presidents award this year. That means that she was on the honor roll all of 6th grade, all of 7th grade and the first 2 marking periods of the 8th grade- which that is an achievement- but she came to the US in 5th grade not speaking a word of English and made all A's the following year- We are so proud of her and so happy that she is so well adjusted. ;)

One Year Later..........

2010-06-01T03:33:00.000-07:00

I am not sure I will ever get the hang of putting pictures in and having them match what I am writing about!! Oh well-

WE HAVE BEEN A FAMILY OF 9 NOW FOR 1 FULL YEAR! WOW-
This is our first breakfast as a whole family at home. My daughter and her husband and my beautiful grand kids were here to meet us and to have the long weekend at the beach! It was so much fun having them get to see first hand the first few days being home with kids that did not speak a word of English! This was the best! Some of our friends drove in from the beach to pick us up at the airport and take us home- The new kids got to meet the old kids! We were all so tired at this point- I will have to say- the kids did great on the trip home- Little Zoe' was so afraid of the airplanes. Daddy did a lot of holding her.

This is daddy and mom with the kids at the Ethiopian airport. We were there several hours- It looks like a lot of bags to bring home- but you should have seen what we took! So many of our friends helped us "bless" the orphanage in Adis. We took several hundreds of pounds of baby goods- milk, diapers, wipes, toys, meds. It was so much fun seeing the directors face!

We were blessed with several "coffee ceremonies" You start with raw coffee beans, grind them, cook them, and make coffee with them! The coffee is SO GOOD-- Can I go back just for some coffee???

This is the famous museum with the "Lucy bones" I really wanted to see them- and what a disappointment! Really only a few bones- not enough to be any body- or even a part of a body- ???

This is just a view on one of our little trips around the city of Adis.

This is dad and mom getting to meet the kids for the first time- and getting to hug them. See how small they are! The banner picture is form just a few weeks ago- they have all grown so much! They love being here- We do have our issues just like any family- and as ours is so large and so diverse- we have some issues that are only common to international adoption (from a third world nation) We have the kids in counseling. (and mom and dad are too!)

This past year has been a journey....

We feel like Chesapeake will be home for a long time. (we have been here just under a year) All of the kids like the schools they are in and are making friends at school and around the house.

We have found a wonderful church. (finally!!!) We feel so at home at it and love how they have embraced us and our kids!

Blessings, Pamela Dawn

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JADEN !!!

2010-05-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

happy birthday Jaden! You are just the sweetest kid :)

Jaden is 9 now! Here he is when he was 5-- My little guy is just growing up!

Hard to Believe!

2010-05-27T03:21:00.000-07:00

WOW- It has been a whole year- The kids have been home now a year! Doesn't seem like a year most of the time- and sometimes it feels like they have just always been with us!

We have definitely have had our ups and downs this year. Each of the adoptions have had their own different struggles.

Zoe and Davis's English is really good for a year home. Justin is struggling with his. Justin's soccer has been his saving point. And he is good at it.

Juan and I are going to put Zoe and Davis into the 3rd grade next year. We put them in 1st as they had really never been to school and could not read or write. As they were so small, it worked out OK- However they have grown this year- so, we are putting them in grades for they age. (Zoe should be rising 4th but that is just too big of a leap- we may jump her another grade next year) Justin will be going into the 6th grade- Middle school will be so hard for him- we are really praying on what to do.

Juan and I had our date night last Friday night and after a wonderful dinner, we went to Barnes and Noble- my favorite place! We found some wonderful math and reading work books for each of the kids to work on this summer.

In just over a month, the middle adopted kids will be home for 4 years! And Joey in Sept will be home for 8 years.

Each of our children have a wonderful story to tell. ;)

Blessings, Pamela Dawn

Guarantee

2010-05-20T03:24:00.000-07:00

Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of.” Luke 19:26 (MSG)

Risk is the substance of our faith because it requires us to take Step 1 before we see Step 2.

Risk means we’re compelled to action, even when there seems to be no guarantee of what will be on the other side of our choice of faith.
But it’s risks, large and small, that God uses to stretch us from living by sight into living by faith.

The irony is, as we concentrate on the risks associated with faith, we fail to understand we’re taking a greater risk by remaining independent of God.
If we believe what we say we believe, then, regardless of what we see on the other side of faithful risk, the reality is God is there.

What seems to be a no-guarantee situation actually comes with the greatest guarantee of all—a God-guarantee—that he’s working it all out (Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:11).

With a God-guarantee, you can enter into the risky obedience of attempting things that are impossible unless God gives you his strength to do them.

With a God-guarantee, you can enter into the risky obedience of loving other believers so deeply and so richly that you prove to the world you are a Jesus-one bearing God’s fathomless love.

With a God-guarantee, you can enter into the risky obedience of loving your unlovable neighbors just as you love the unlovable you.

With a God-guarantee, you can enter into the risky obedience of changing your priorities to match God’s priorities, sacrificing, in faith, what you cannot keep for the things that can never be taken away.

With a God-guarantee, you can enter into the risky obedience of going to make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them the risky obedience of following what Jesus commands (Matthew 28:19–20 NIV).

Proud Mom & Dad

2010-04-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

We just opened the envelope that announced that "A" was accepted into the Jr. National Honor Society. We are so proud of our baby girl! Imagine, coming into this country just 4 years ago; her English vocabulary was about 20-25 words. Now she's consistently on the honor roll.

NewsPapers.....

2010-04-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

We agreed to do this story for the Virginian Pilot several months ago, actually before we realized the extent of any issues with our son. As we spent 3 days with the reporter, I asked her not to make our son's issue the main point of the story since it is NOT the main point of our everyday lives. (I guess that part of our story is what sells newspapers, not a story about God's love in our family)

In talking to the reporter after seeing what was printed, she did say that the editor cut all of the story about Me, Juan andthe other 6 kids..... again, issues sell!

I am disappointed because we wanted the world to see a great adoption with lots of kids and for the most part life working well--

Please take my word- we are an everyday, run-of-the-mill adoptive family with all of the ups and downs that go alone with it. What we wanted to see in the story, was the strength we draw from each other, the closeness we've developed over the years, the hurdles we've crossed so far and the faith we have that our Lord will get us over the hurdles we well come to in the future. There are many, many families out there with similar circumstances, but not all have been able to see their blessings yet.

Please continue to pray for any adoptive family that your know. They need strength, faith, peace, wisdom, and joy.

Blessings, Pam

We are in the Virginia Pilot!

2010-04-19T03:04:00.000-07:00

We were asked to have our story told a few months ago- Here it is-- in full.

The children’s mother was supposed to be dead, or at least on her deathbed
Pam and Juan Johnson had traveled more than 7,000 miles to Ethiopia to adopt her three children, to give them new parents and a new family.
Yet the couple was in Addis Ababa, staring at a recent picture of their new children’s mother. She didn’t look sick; she looked young and healthy.
The adoption had already gone through. The Johnsons were free to take the children home to the United States.
“We’re sitting, looking at each other,” Pam Johnson said. “What do you do?”
The Chesapeake couple knows they’re not the first people to run into problems with Ethiopian adoptions – the country is the second most-popular foreign destination for adoptive American families, behind China.
International adoption can be a murky world. Periodically, the State Department will issue warnings about adopting from certain countries – Nepal and Guatemala were recently put on the list. While Ethiopia is not, the licenses of several Ethiopian orphanages were recently revoked, and the U.S. Embassy there just put in place stricter visa processing requirements.
Some Americans who have adopted from Ethiopia say they’ve been given the wrong baby. Some mothers expecting healthy children have wound up with very ill ones.
Still – a healthy mother giving away her healthy children was something the Johnsons weren’t prepared for.
Justin, Zoë and Davis were the Johnsons’ third set of adoptions. They adopted three siblings from Ethiopia in 2006 and a boy from China in 2002 . The new additions also were siblings, ages 11, 8 and 7 at the time. It was May 2009.
The Johnsons had been sitting in the courtyard of the halfway house, where children go from the orphanage to wait for their new parents to arrive. They were signing papers when a worker, flipping through the children’s files, came across a picture.
Who’s that? Juan asked.
Their mother, Pam remembers the worker saying casually . Justin jumped up and pointed out his mom, along with several other relatives in the picture. The Johnsons asked for a copy , as their hearts sank. They still keep two copies in their files, with each relative labeled in pen on the back.
Once back home, Leah, the Johnsons’ oldest adopted daughter from Ethiopia, would sometimes mention strange things Justin had said to her in Amharic , their native language. He’d talk about being able to go back to Ethiopia any time, and say that he was just in America for school.
“Oh, he couldn’t think that,” Pam would tell her.
“Well, mom, that’s what he said,” Leah would reply. Then, shortly after Christmas, they were sitting around the dining table when Justin mentioned he thought he’d be going home for the holiday. He asked to call his mother.
Pam remembers him saying: “ Mom wanted me to call . We haven’t talked to my mom. ”
Pam shooed the other children out of the room, as Justin told her about his concept of adoption. He was coming to America only for school, to get a good job, he said. He would be able to see his mother on vacations, and talk to her regularly. There was no mention of having new parents, joining a new family. Soon both of them were crying.
He went up to his room and lay on his bed, sobbing, while Pam sat with him, not knowing what to say.
All those times he’d been talking to Leah, “we’d thought he just didn’t understand,” she said. “But in reality, we didn’t understand.”
The Johnsons’ Dominion Lakes home feels like a busy and happy place. On Fridays after school, when there’s no soccer practice, seven children romp around the backyard on skateboards and bikes, sometimes so loudly that it draws over other children to investigate.
Joey, 10, practices his skateboard tricks on a plastic ramp. He was a tiny, 24-pound 3- year-old from Hunan Province in China who could barely walk when his parents adopted him. Now, he comes home bragging about how many push-ups he did that day.
Jaden, 8, can be found in a massive tree in the back yard, with Zoë, now 9, scampering up after him.
Davis, now 8, and Justin, now 12, might be playing soccer with other kids from the neighborhood, while the two oldest girls, Leah, 17, and Analyse, 15, chat on the phone, or take a walk.
Pam and Juan say they’re still very pro-adoption. Joey, for instance, is a happy kid. They do feel a little uneasy about their first Ethiopian adoption, when they got Leah, Analyse and Jaden. They said they were told the children were very poor, were headed for lives in prostitution and that they ate only one meal a day.
Turns out, none of that was true, the children would later tell them. Their parents were dead, but they had wealthy relatives who could have cared for them. But the girls and their brother have happily settled in with their new family.
Even with their third set, it’s not so much Zoë and Davis that the Johnsons are worried about – at 9 and 8, they seem young enough to take this in stride.
But Justin …
The issues in his adoption have made them question his littlest gestures.
Is he just naturally shy? Or is his shyness a sign he can’t bond with his new family? Are his downcast eyes just how he’s used to interacting with adults? Or do they indicate an unhappiness his limited English can’t give voice to?
And they can’t stop worrying: What does his mother know?
“You feel like unintentional kidnappers,” Juan said.
They’ve put their second set of children into group therapy, which they think has helped them open up . They encourage talk about Ethiopia at dinner. They’re trying to address the issue head-on, they say.
“We don’t want to pretend none of this happened,” Juan said. “But we don’t want any child to feel like we don’t want them, or that they shouldn’t be here.”
“They’re here,” Pam said. “And we will take very, very good care of them.”
A lawyer for the Johnsons’ adoption agency, Curtis Bostic, said it is the Ethiopian government that deems a child an orphan and adoptable – not the adoption agencies – and the agencies have almost no contact with biological parents. The government provides information about the child’s background, he said, which agencies then provide to potential adopters.
When parents adopt through Christian World Adoption, he said, they sign a form at the start that says the information they’re provided about the child that’s going to join their home may not be true.
“We know that sometimes it’s inaccurate. You need to investigate within yourself as to whether you’re willing to continue with an adoption knowing that you may not have” correct information, he said. “If you’re an adoption agency you have to trust that a parent will take this seriously, wouldn’t you think?”
Yes, he says, there is risk in these adoptions. “You either accept the fact that on occasion you’re not going to have entirely accurate information, or you leave children to die in Ethiopia,” he said. “Those are the two choices.” As far as Justin not understanding that he was being adopted, Bostic said he can’t speak to how that would happen – if, indeed, it’s true.
It’s not easy to talk to Justin about his experience. He’s quiet to start with, and can get quieter when the subject of Ethiopia comes up. His English isn’t great yet, and it can be hard to tell how much he understands. Still, he doesn’t seem angry – he seems resigned. He was upset after that first conversation , but after that “I just stopped thinking about it,” he said.
He believes his mother is expecting to hear from him. He knows the number, he said. He could call. But he isn’t planning to.
The Johnsons say they have no intention of contacting her either. They think the worst thing that could happen is that they call her, and she demands her children be sent home right away – what would they do then? There are no procedures for sending a child back to Ethiopia.
You don’t give back your biological children when they’re not what you expected, Pam said. They’re trying to think of this the same way. “No matter what dishonest things were done … these kids are here for a reason,” she said. “I’m going to hold on to that.”
Alicia Wittmeyer, (757) 222-5216, alicia.wittmeyer@pilotonline.com

The Forgiven Forgive

2010-04-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

When I read news articles on-line about people who are being accused of, charged with or convicted of a wrong doing, I usually follow down to the bottom where people post comments about the article. What amazes me is the amount of unforgiving, and lack of compassion or empathy there is in the world. Yes, the wrong should be convicted ( I won't go into "proper" punishment), but the writers spew such vile hatred, it shocks me. This is especially true if a victim of a crime, regardless of the crime, is a child. It's as if adults start losing value for every year they go beyond 18.

Now I don't know if it's a tendency for unforgiving people to post comments more than those who are forgiving, or that there are less forgiving people in the world. Now I'm not advocating that we just forgive and forget for everything, but sometimes there are extenuating circumstances that we don't know about as readers of news articles. There are past wrongs, social pressures, financial pressures, psychological pressures, timing issues, or whatever that drive people to do some things that others would not imagine themselves doing...until they have walked in that person's shoes. Do these things make the "perpetrators" innocent or right? No, but our Lord is compassionate even unto those that have gravely sinned against Him...you know, like me!

In my own humble opinion, I don't think the Lord would be so harsh if He were sitting in the judgement seats of our courts (or if He were asked to comment on a news article). At least not as harsh as some of these commenters are. I see people talking about how they would kill the perpetrators (or at least how they should die), how they should spend the rest of their lives in jail or how they should be physically punished for their crimes. I rarely if ever hear anyone suggesting teaching, mentoring, possibilities of redemption or forgiveness. I don't see anyone admitting to their own faults (ye rock throwers of olde).

Maybe it's just me, but it saddens me on the one hand, and on the other hand, I am so glad that the Lord God is my judge. He is a just God, and a forgiving and compassionate God.

That's My King

2010-04-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

I heard this the first time, this past Sunday in church.
I've listened to it no less than 10 times since then.
It rings in my heart so loudly.

I hope you feel it too.

Juan

A Real Dad

2010-04-12T04:57:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of men "sow their seed". However, it takes more than a 'seed sower' to be a daddy ... it takes a farmer to tend those seeds. That's what a real daddy is.

I've seen a daddy that has sacrificed for a greater purpose.
I've seen a daddy that has put aside his wants for his children's needs and desires.
I've seen a daddy drive a 15 passenger van and no longer look "cool".
I've seen a daddy sell his own things in order to provide for his family.
I've seen a daddy go to work every day - even when he doesn't want to.
I've seen a daddy tuck his kids in bed every night and pray for angels to guard them.
I've seen a daddy discipline his children in love, firmness and grace.
I've seen a daddy on his knees in prayer every night.
I've seen a daddy cry over his children.
I've seen a daddy play soccer with his kids and encourage them from the sidelines.
I've seen a daddy teach his kids how to ride a bike.
I've seen a daddy read books and make up the words so it has more humor.
I've seen a daddy teach his kids how to work hard .
I've seen a daddy lead his family in devotions every night.
I've seen a daddy encourage his kids in their schooling.
I've seen a daddy speak into his kid's destinies.
I've seen a daddy set an example on how to love his wife.
I've seen a daddy model repentance and forgiveness, mercy and grace.
I've seen a daddy who is always home for dinner.
I've seen a daddy say "yes" when his wife says "this one is ours too".
I've seen a man who has fathered his children -
who has cultivated the seed that was sown in his field.

I've seen a man who will open his heart and home up to who ever the Lord sends his way. This man is living the Bible verse that talks about caring for the widow and the orphan. I love this man.

Blessings, Pamela Dawn

Opportunity to excel

2010-04-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

Remember the post when I said that I have to remember being a kid in order to be a good parent? I remember being a kid and throwing things is part of being a boy kid. Throw something, throw it high, throw it far, throw it fast, throw! It's David in us I guess.

Well, today Jaden was trying to throw a strap up into a tree. It was a cargo strap, with a heavy metal "S" hook on one end. The tree is in the front yard. Well, up went the strap, but not toward the tree, it went over the house and on to the windshield of Mom's car!

I came home and the boys were all sitting quietly on the floor in the family room. Curious. When I asked what was going on, Mom just told me to go out and look at the car.

This is what I came home to:
(The dusty dirt is actually pollen just one day after rinsing... welcome Spring!)
Jaden gets a lesson in economics. I'll take it to be fixed tomorrow. Needless to say, Moms don't normally get the boy need for throwing things, but she's forgiving (as long as I get this fixed soon).

Family Time

2010-04-04T16:15:00.001-07:00

Today we went out to OBX for our periodic "fix". We got to catch up with our church family and worship together. My friend Sam spoke at church about "What Does God Look Like?" I love Sam's talks, because he keeps it simple and puts it in your face without smacking you with it. God looks like Jesus. Jesus, when he was here as a man, showed us how he was kind, gentle, loving, non-judgmental, caring, compassionate, passionate, righteous, strong, forgiving, hardworking, and wise. I could go on for a few pages, but I think I got some of the best ones across.

After church we went to our good friend Brenda's house for lunch and talk time. We spent about an hour at the beach enjoying the sun and taking some pictures. Joey said he would love to move back to the beach because his sinuses almost instantly cleared up after spending time at the beach. Then it was the long ride back home.

Even with all of this...this evening was the best time. We ordered Chinese from our local place and ate dinner together. We always try to have "Family Time" after dinner. It consists of trying to get the children engaged in conversation. It will tend to be mostly the older children, but the little ones will add in at times. Today was especially special to me because the girls were talking about how they missed their mom. They shared about her last days, her inability to speak or get out of bed, and seeing her tears as she lay there (contemplating her death, I'm sure). I can't begin to imagine the agony in her heart knowing that they would soon be orphans; the youngest was only about 3 then. They talked about the differences between our cultures. In Ethiopia children and parents almost never tell each other "I love you", or hug, or kiss. Leah can actually remember the last time she hugged her mom not too long before she died. They talked about how Jaden would hide and when he thought no one was looking, he'd go hold his mom's hand as she lay helpless in her bed. They shared about their extended family and about their relationships with them (not good). They shared about their anxiety and anticipation of coming to America, especially after receiving our pictures.

We shared deep deep love tonight, deeper than anything else I can think of. It is times like these that I don't doubt that we did the right thing. It gives me strength and courage. It makes my heart swell to see the love they still have for their mom and dad. It is a love that they are not ashamed of and are willing to share. This tells me (in a strange way I guess), that they love and trust me and Pam, their new mom and dad.

My Jesus loves me, this I know; because my Jesus show's so!

2010-03-30T03:37:00.000-07:00

OK, I am doing something pro-active to help me! I am on my way to the beach. I LOVE the beach. And I really love the beach when I do not have to watch 7 kids! So, hopefully, when I get there, it will be at least half way nice to take a walk and just sit and watch the waves.

On the beach, I see God's hand so much clearer than here in the house! (duh!!) Just sitting and watching- maybe I'll see some dolphins !! It clears the mind and calms the soul.

Move-in slow

2010-03-29T05:33:00.000-07:00

My daughter "L" said it really well- "I am just move-in" - I am move-in to get the kids out the door to go to school, just barely move-in to get dinner, move-in to the couch to read a book. That helps, as I don't have to think. When does it get better? I feel like I have been hit by a mack truck.

I am really tired of the "are you OK's" no, I am not, but what do you say? There are only so many ways you can say, I am really hurting and I just want to hit someone or something.

I do not want to say good by to Heather. She is my first born, mother to my beautiful granddaughter. She was beautiful, smart and brave. I miss you Heather.

Memories can be helpful

2010-03-21T08:55:00.001-07:00

As a "second time around" dad, I try to use my memories of being a kid and my memories of parenting my first set as parenting tools. I remember being clumsy and quiet as a kid, so it helps me to be patient with the kids (most of the time). I remember getting into trouble for various things, and I try to remember what it was I thought I was doing or the reasons behind them. That helps (most of the time.).

One vivid memory I have helps me to understand how children can be playing so hard, that they completely miss what's going on around them...like darkness falling upon them. When I was about 7 years old, we lived in Landover MD. My dad was active duty Army during the Vietnam conflict and at the time he was in-patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He had cancer in the femur of one of his legs. I don't recall which leg (that's a good thing, I think) He and his legs survived the ordeal and they are all still here to tell the story; though at 71, I'm sure his legs argue with him at times on the points of survival.

My dad, like many other dads had a few rules we were diligently taught to obey. The following were some of the key rules: 1) be in the house by the time the street lights come on. 2.) Tell them (our parents) where we were going before we left. & 3.) If we left the first place, we were to come back and notify said parents about the change in location.

Summer time was a time that these three rules would come into play daily. On one such day, my brother and I decided to go catch tadpoles and frogs. My brother is only one year older than I am. He and I were joining a bunch of friends on "a frog hunt." The usual place to go was in front of this large rain pipe thingy that water from the various street drains lead into and deposited out and developed a stream (river during heavy rains). The pipe was large enough for a small child to walk in it standing up. I don't know how I knew that, because no one was allowed to go into it, and besides it had a large grate in front of it that was designed to keep kids out of it. Yeah right! Anyway, we (a group of about 6-8 boys) were catching frogs and tadpoles, but there weren't enough to go around. So we decided to go elsewhere. Now, we did follow rule number 2, but for the life of me, I don't know why we forgot rule number 3.

We decided that a great place to go for frogs would be in the water hazards at the nearby golf course. (Now that I think about it, that probably was a very stupid idea all by itself...imagine 1967, and a bunch of "Negro" boys sneaking out on the country club golf course to catch frogs). So, we were having a great time, playing in the water, catching frogs, getting each other wet and muddy, etc. At some point one of us happens to look up at the sky. "Uh, oh!" It was pitch black dark. None of us had even noticed it because we were having so much fun, and our eyes were becoming slowly adjusted to the dark, I guess. Well, there went rule number 1. So if your kid comes home late, and gives something of this type of excuse think about it first.

Anyway, we started back home with all of us trying to get a good lie straight between us. I don't even remember what it was. It didn't matter anyway... As we were getting close to home we had to pass that place we went to originally. You know, the place with the kid sized pipe that we're not supposed to go in, but kids do anyway. As we approached the place we see LOTS of flashing red lights. Yup! Fire fighters, search and rescue, ambulance, police and a street full of parents, family and lookers on! The men were in the pipe looking for us lost kids! Whatever lie we were going to try had just lost its strength by 100%. We all meandered through the crowd looking for our respective parents. I found my dad and quietly tugged on his pant leg. My dad is an imposing man of 6'4", with keen features, a river deep voice, and a steely stare. He looked down at me and my brother and silently pointed in the direction of our house. Needless to say, even though we tried to get a good cry going before we got home, it didn't stop him from whipping us both at the same time!

Ah, fond memories! Don't you love 'em? They make us who were are, and hopefully make us better parents. (most of the time).

Care to share one of your growth memories?

Joey

2010-03-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

I know the school year is almost over, but.... we have been talking, emailing, praying for something to be done to help Joey out at school. He is bored, and to this day says everything he is doing is "review" Well, the school finally tested him for the gifted program (test was about 4 weeks ago) but, we got his results yesterday and he is gifted! So, they have moved him into a "gifted" classroom. His math test scores were among the highest of the 4th graders. Yesterday, Joey spent the day in the new classroom and he loved it- I am so happy. Having a bored kid in school can cause alot of problems! It was so bad, that I have considered homeschooling!

Well done Joey!
love, Pamela

Ocean

2010-03-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

I really love the ocean. It calms my spirit even when the waves are crashing and full of white caps. As yesterday was. Thank you Linda for standing in the cold so that I could get my "fix"!!

Somehow just watching the waves and seeing the vastness brings me closer to my Lord. And I am able to put back into perspective the things that are going on in my life.

Grief

2010-03-16T04:09:00.000-07:00

In the last several weeks my world has just fallen apart. My daughter passing away seems so unreal- how can she? she was in her mid 30's- and this has now brought flooding back the memories of my late husband passing away. So much pain, grief and mourning.

At night, I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. My thoughts are incoherent pieces of a puzzle that I have grown really tired of. My heartache will not go away. Or the guilt. Or the regret. I am out of tears, out of prayers and wonder in silence. Is God up there, beyond the ceiling? I know that God is there, but at this point today, I can not feel Him.

I feel like I am in the ocean, with the waves crashing over me. the waves just keep coming at the weirdest times. Some are big and some are just small baby waves. I know that the waves will become farther apart as time goes by, but that does not help right now.

I know all of this is "normal"- but it is hard. I can be just fine and then not remember anything- like my brain is fried. And the tears at the craziest times- Just sitting reading a book-(same page over and over) I start to cry.

I miss H. I miss B. This just should not have happened.
Pam

Life is going on...

2010-03-11T03:23:00.000-08:00

Well, life is going on. Soccer has started full force. This season we have 5 kids playing and on 4 different teams. I am running! (so is Juan) Right now all of the teams are practicing 3 times a week- Do you know how many trips that is? LOL Zoe' and Davis love it and are good- watching them was a WOW moment...

Joey, formally know as Dylan had a cleft pallet team doctor visit this week on Tues. These are all day events, as he sees a group of doctors on this team. His jaw is so out of alignment that he is beginning to be really hard to understand. The next major surgery is to brake his jaw and wire it shut in the correct position. He can not have this done until he is done growing-- 7,8 maybe 9 more years- We are so blessed to have Dr McGee as Joey's team doctor. That was a whole big God thing to get him on the team! another story.. Anyway, Dr McGee has started to do a new surgery to help kids like Joe. So Joey will be going in to have surgery in the next few weeks. As soon as they can have hospital time. Dr McGee is putting plates into Joey's mouth, screwing them into the jaw bones. Then they put heavy rubber bands on the plates. ,moving the jaw into the correct position. (Hopefully, this works some of the time as it is moving bones).
We are praying that this will work for Joey. Joey is one of the bravest boys I know. And he has the sweetest spirit about him. This will be his 6th surgery in the just under 7 years he has lived with us. Really a remarkable kid. God's kid

I have some issues with my legs. (ever since the plane trip around the world and the trip down to TX was just as bad) Anyway, I see the doctor for the results of the blood work ups tomorrow. I am hopeful that there is an easy answer for this. Very painful.

Thank you all for the phone calls, visits, meals, funds(to help with all of the out of pocket expenses) and help that lots of you have been. Our family and I really appreciate it all- Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray. I do feel your prayers and they are much needed. The Lord has blessed me with wonderful friends.

Blessings, Pamela Dawn

Hurt

2010-03-11T03:17:00.000-08:00

I guess that I really want the world to just stop- my daughter has died. Why is it a beautiful, warm day? Why are the birds singing? The schools, banks, shopping malls are open and life is just going on. Why doesn't it all stop for a bit while I hurt so bad?

Thank you All

2010-03-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,
Thank you all for your prayers, calls, help to Juan and the kids. I SO appreciated everything. Thank you all.
I am home, really tired, but home!
My daughter" L" and I still need your prayers as we now try to take care of the things that get left ed behind. Please pray for my beautiful granddaughter "C". She is precious. Please pray for "L" whole family as they all go thru so many changes in their lives.
Blessings, Pam

Home for Good

2010-03-07T16:59:00.001-08:00

Pam is home. Exhausted of course, but home none-the-less. Thank you so much to her "sisters" in the OBX, that took her in and babied her for a couple of days. Unfortunately, it was too cold/windy for them to sit on the beach, so they took advantage of a great clearance sale at Belks. ;o) Thank you so much to my sister for sending us a Honey Baked ham & a carrot cake. It lasted through 2 great meals and still had left overs for a soup.

Thank you all again for your prayers. May the Lord bless each of you with peace, strength and wisdom.

My two oldest daughters made me so proud. They stepped in for Mom without hesitation. Cooking, doing laundry, and getting the "little ones" off to school. All the kids worked together as Team Johnson. Mom didn't have to come home to a disaster. (A sure sign of great mom)

Love from a greatful husband and father
Juan

Jesus & The Passover

2010-03-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

Today, we went to church and there was a guest speaker. I'm terrible with names, so I'm not going to even pretend to remember. He was however a joyous blessing to listen to . He is a Messianic Jew, who is a missionary to Jews (JewsforJesus.org). The subject was the passover meal that Jews celebrate (The Seder), and the meal that Jesus celebrated just before he gave his life for me/us. He told us all the significance of each element of the meal, and all of the actions involved. He had samples of just about everything that would be involved in the meal, as he was explaining it. The neatest part is how he was able to show how things pointed to the Lord Jesus.

For some reason, I always find it a blessing when I meet a practicing Jew and a double blessing when I meet a Messianic Jew. I guess it's a triple blessing when I get to sit and listen to one tell of how the they love the Lord Jesus and how they are being lead to lead other's to His salvation.

It reminds me to pray for salvation for "The Branch" that was taken out so that we could be grafted in.

Mommie's Home!!

2010-03-04T17:46:00.001-08:00

I met Pam, (L) & (C) outside of Richmond and brought her home this morning.
She was absolutely spent. Her good good girlfriends from OBX came and got her this afternoon to go spend the weekend in decompression. A few days of nothing to do, no where to go, and all day to get it done is what this doctor (Dr. J) ordered. The OBX is the best place...surrounded by loving friends, a calm environment a peaceful ocean and sandy beaches. I'll go get her Saturday after soccer practices.

Thank you to all of you for all of your prayers and all of your kind words of encouragement.
Without a Christian family, this would be maddening.

God bless all of you.

Coming Home

2010-03-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

Pam, (L), & (C) are on the road heading home.
Please continue to pray for traveling mercies for them.
It's a 3 day trip.

Latest Update

2010-02-28T04:01:00.000-08:00

Pam and (L) are with our granddaughter(C). The "neighbor" actually turns out to be a cousin of Heather's boyfriend and the cousin's wife. Pam got to meet some other relatives as well. Pam and L are working on going through Heather's things (sorting, prioritizing, etc) A person's sudden death leaves so much guess work behind. It's mentally and emotionally exhausting trying to maintain your calm and composure while grieving over the loss of your child. I am so thankful to Jesus that (L) was able to be there with Pam.

(L) is to take custody of (C), this was in Heather's will, so it wasn't a decision they needed to make. Thankfully, (C) is in agreement with this as well. For some reason she didn't want to be swallowed up in the Johnson Clan to be one of 8 kids. Can you imagine that? (C) & (L) are fairly close as aunt and niece already, so the transition should be "relatively smooth" over the course of time.

They will be using Heather's car and will driving back, so please pray for traveling mercies for them. I'll probably have to meet them somewhere to pick up Pam. I'll let you all know when that is to be.

She's gone.

2010-02-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Our daughter, Heather passed away this morning around 10:00am. She was 36yrs old, and leaves behind her 14 year old daughter, and her loving family.

Please continue to pray for Pam as she is on her way to Dallas. Pray also for our granddaughter and our other daughter (L) who is also on her way to Dallas.

PLEASE PRAY

2010-02-26T05:43:00.000-08:00

This is an emergency request for prayer.

Our oldest adult daughter is in the hospital and on life support at this very second. The doctors are doing everything they can to keep her alive.

Please pray for
Mercy, Peace, Wisdom and Strength.
Traveling mercies for Pam and our other adult daughter (L) as they travel to Dallas this morning.
The doctors, nurses, and techs at the hospital in Dallas Texas
Our granddaughter who is with a neighbor friend right now.
Bless this neighbor friend for being there and stepping in for us.

Thank you for praying with and for us.

Good Food

2010-02-25T04:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a chicken recipe that my kids LOVE-- all of them love this WOW!!
And it is easy to make:

BAKED CHICKEN AND ZUCCHINI

1 egg
1 Tbs water
3/4 teas salt
1/8 teas pepper
1 cup dry bread crumbs
4 boneless skinless chicken breast
4 Tbs olive oil
5 med zucchini - sliced
4 med tomatoes -- sliced
1 cup mozzarella cheese
2 teas minced fresh basil

In small bowl, beat egg, water and 1/2 teas salt and pepper. Set aside 2 Tbs bread crumbs. Place the remaining bread crumbs in a large resealable plastic bag. Dip chicken in the egg mixture, then place in bag and shake to coat. In skillet cook chicken in 2 Tbs oil for 2 to 3 minutes on each side (or until golden brown ) Remove from skillet and set aside. In the same skillet saute the zucchini in the remaining oil until crisp, tender; drain. Transfer the zucchini into a greased 13x9x2 baking dish. Sprinkle the reserved bread crumbs on top of the zucchini, top with the tomatoes slices; Sprinkle 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the basil and remaining salt. Top with the chicken. Cover and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle the remaining cheese on chicken and bake for 10 minutes longer (or until cheese is melted.
Yield- 4 servings.

First time I made this, I did just what it calls for here-- the 2 time, I added yellow squash to the zucchini and I used a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes instead of the fresh tomatoes. For my family, I double this recipe and use the amount of chicken to feed 9 of us-- I also use the frozen chicken tender- instead of the whole breast. (that works well for my smaller kids.)

Another recipe that we like and is easy to do--

ASIAN CHICKEN AND NOODLES

2 cups water
1 pkg chicken flavor Ramen noodles (3 oz side)
1 pkg ( 16 oz ) frozen broccoli, carrots, and water chestnuts
1 Tbs oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast--cut into strips
1/4 cup prepared stir fry cooking sauce

Bring water to a boil in large saucepan. Add noodles and frozen veggies, reserving the seasoning packet from the noodles. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; drain. Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet, add chicken; cook and stir until lightly browned; about 8 minutes. Stir in noodles, veggies, stir fry sauce and the seasoning packet; heat trough.
Yield- 4 servings

I doubled this and made 4 packs of the romen noodles. Again, I used chicken tenders instead of breasts- have to cut in strips anyway!!

Kids love both of these.

Hey girlfriends- sorry you forgot these yesterday!! but here they are! love you both!
Thank you for the girls day shopping!

Blessings, Pam

Zoe' Update

2010-02-24T04:57:00.000-08:00

I took Miss Z to her doctor apt yesterday. She has latin TB and is on a 9 month regiment of meds. She only has 2 more months and we are all happy about that! She is really doing very well on it all. The meds have some side affects, but she is coping just fine.

I actually drove to Kings Daughter for the appointment and home with out getting lost! It seems like the downtown area is always under some kind of construction!

Miss Z and I had a nice morning together and taking her back to school, I met up with her ESL teacher and had a good update from her. YEA!
Blessings, Pam

We got our fix of OBX today

2010-02-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

We went to our old Church on the OBX (Nags Head Church). We were starting to have withdrawal jitters ;o) It is always so neat to see our old family/friends. The kids even look forward to it. It's great to live close enough that we can decide to go the day before and just make a day trip of it. We get to hug and kiss our old friends, play a little catch up, and see how much all the babies have grown.

The music/song worship time was fantastic as always! Rick Lawrenson, the senior pastor is on sabbatical, so the other elders are filling in in his absence. The sermon series is on the 7 signs of a healthy church (I think I have that right) and today's sermon was on a praying church. Of course praying and faith could be the only 2 signs really needed, when you think about it. Nags Head Church is a praying, giving, and loving church. This church family is huge on local outreach and huge on missions works. They are also huge on being connected in and they make great efforts in making sure people are connected to small group involvement. I especially miss Saturday morning men's group meetings. These are a great bunch of real men. Real - as in open, supportive and praying Christian men.

We took a walk out on the beach for a little while before heading home. The beach was almost deserted, the wind and waves were calm - BEAUTIFUL!!. Then back to the land of reality. What a great way to spend the Lord's day!

Blessings
Juan

Adoption Means Giving of Yourself

2010-02-19T05:16:00.000-08:00

Adoption means giving of yourself all the time. All the time is just hard to do. I know that this is what we are called to do. Jesus gave his life and he gave his life ALL the time while here on earth. I think this is what I am striving to do, obeying Christ.

With children who come home at an older age, it is a struggle.
I long to truly love them as Christ loves me. This is something for continual prayer. It is a slow process.

Not because God is not faithful, but because I am not faithful. I try to be faithful in spiritual disciplines, but I give place to the enemy all too often. The times where I have really sought the Lord have been sweet times in my relationship with them.

I know what Jesus meant when he said, "without me, you can do nothing." Also, that if we remain in him we will bear much fruit."

One thing that has really helped me in the day to day issues,is to remember why I wanted to adopt older children. That I wanted to give my life away for the sake of others as Christ did.

The problem is that my heart is so prone to wander and I can easily let my guard down. This is the Christian struggle! The thing that we want to do, we don't, and the thing that we hate, that we do. If Paul struggled with this, we will as well. Who will deliver us from this body of death??? Paul asked, and his answer was Christ!
I was hoping that just sharing our struggles might help others, in the adoption world and in just life.

God is so very very good! Isn't that the whole story of the Bible from beginning to end.

Blessings, Pam

Always Something!

2010-02-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

The good, the bad and the ugly;

We started the children in a group grief therapy group. All 7 of them have experience so much loss in their lives. The stress that they must feel has to be off the charts. We have been to the group several times. The 3 newest kids (main reason for this) have started to open up and talk about Ethiopia. At this point, it is just the stories- not personal feelings. That is a great start.

All of the kids on the whole are "happy". They do not have joy. Some of them have started a relationship with Jesus Christ since they have come to their "forever home". We do however have some real issues that have just come up in the last few weeks. Please pray for the kids as you feel lead.

The good- Justin is doing SO much better in school than we thought- I am glad for teachers that care enough to return phone calls and e-mails. I am happy that he wants to learn.

I am not sure how much to share on an open blog. If you are a reader and want to know how to pray for us- please email me.

Blessings, Pam

Happy New Year!

2010-02-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

Here's our first family picture together (Auto timer) These faces are what it's all about.

The kids had a blast looking for the little red envelopes (like an Easter Egg Hunt). We're ordering out Chinese food in a few minutes. "Bring it on fat man!"

Chinese New Year

2010-02-13T04:58:00.000-08:00

We are (well mom is ) busy preparing for the most elaborate, colorful, and important of all the traditional Chinese festivals. The Chinese New Year is celebrated annually on the first day of the First Moon of the lunar calendar.

This year's celebration falls on Sunday, February 14th. Similar to the Western New Year, Chinese New Year symbolizes turning over a new leaf and starting anew. In the Far East, it is also the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Socially, it is a time for family reunions and gatherings with family and friends.

On New Years Day, children are given red Lai-See envelopes, with good luck money wrapped in little red envelopes.

We are making a game out of our red envelopes. I have 3 for each child- and Juan and I will hide them all over the house. The kids will than find a # 1 each and #2 , #3 and then we have 3 bonus ones with a bit more money in them- who ever finds them, gets them!! Having 7 kiddos- the $'s in each envelope amounts to coins from the coin jar- but lots of fun doing this.

In China new clothes will be worn - preferably in red. We have found red shirts for all of us to wear to church tomorrow. Friends and family will exchange "Gung Hey Fat Choy" greetings (meaning "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth").

The kids have been practicing how to say "Gung Hey Fat Choy"-- and it seems to always come out as "Bring it on fat man" that was TOO funny and the kids have kind of made it a saying around our house-- could be worse, I guess......

In China parades will be held and lanterns will be carried. Dragons made of bamboo, silk and paper will stretch for a hundred feet and dance in the streets. Schools and business will close for the week long celebration.
Preparations begin early and on the 20th day of the Twelfth Moon, the Chinese set aside the day for the annual "sweeping of the grounds". Every corner of the house must be swept and cleaned in preparation for the new year. Spring Couplets (short poems written in classical Chinese) are put on the walls or on the sides of the gateways. In addition, symbolic flowers and fruits are used to decorate homes and businesses alike.

Tangerines are symbolic of good luck as the word for tangerine has the same sound as "luck" in Chinese. And fruit from a tree with leaves is best as the leaves symbolize longevity. WE have a bag of tangerines to help with our celebration.

We will order Chinese food for our main meal, (a big treat!) The kids are excitedly waiting for tomorrow.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation,
the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119:103 (NIV)

Blessings, Pam

My Journey

2010-02-10T03:31:00.000-08:00

Over the last year several readers have asked me about my "before" life. Sometimes it is very difficult to talk about the hard things in life, but I do feel that it is time for me to share some of me.

In my growing up years, life was very difficult. My father was a very hard man. Our family did not attend any church. My brother, sister and I sometimes went to a church with the older lady across the street from us. Some of the live values I learned was to stay out of the way (away from dad) and that only you can make things happen. Very humanistic.

My father told me all of my life that no man would ever want to marry me. So of course, I married the first man that asked me. He turned out to be my father all over again, just 20 years younger. Why do we do this??? The only highlight of this marriage was my beautiful daughters, H and L. One night this man almost put me in the hospital (I ended up black and blue all over my legs and back, and had a black eye) I had finally had enough, and had developed enough strength and courage to take the girls and we left him. We moved from the south back up to NY to be near my mother (who had remarried) and a very close girlfriend. I should have left him years sooner, but you do only what you can at the time. I do still kick my self some about this.

In NY, I got the girls settled in school and found an apt. and started to learn to live again. I met a good man - He was my prince. At the time that I met him, I did not know that he had a very bad drinking problem. I was naive- and Bill was such a great guy. You have to understand that I had been around some really BAD guys- so drinking at meals didn't seem so bad to me at that time.

We got married, and I loved him so much. He really was a good guy. We ended up moving back to the south for his job. Than his company was bought out and in order to stay working we would have had to move to the mid west- He had kids in NY and I had kids in high school so we really did not want to move. He took early retirement and played golf everyday for about a year.

When he got bored of this, he bought our first restaurant. It was a NY style deli and bakery in a food court. We did have fun running this-- and after about 6-8 months, Bill bought a large full service, bar and restaurant. We had 40 employees and learned a lot about people and running restaurants. We however really didn't know what we were doing- The previous owner knew that a highway by-pass was almost finished and that new restaurants were going up out on the by pass that lead traffic around the city. We eventually had to close down the business and lay off all our employees. We didn't go bankrupt, and we paid off every creditor- (took me a long time). It was so difficult. Bill never got over this.

Between the 2 restaurants we lost everything we had- his retirement funds, my retirement funds, inheritances from his father and from his aunt, the money from our house in NY and from our house in Ky. We lost over a million dollars. I would love to have my retirement funds back.....

My first husband had been active in a church, but than would come home and was physically and mentally abusive to me. It did not give me a good picture of the church. My father gave me a horrible picture of a father. This made it hard to figure out where I really fit in this world. Bill was a radical atheist. He talked to people about it- He believed it. If all Christians would have befriended and talked to people like Bill did- boy what a difference. Our life style was very humanistic, NO God- No one who cared at all. With my background it was not difficult at all for me to follow right in Bills footsteps and become atheistic.

All thorough the years of the restaurants, Bill drank heavier and heavier. And it was easy, we owned a bar-- When we closed them, I took a job as an accountant. We needed the health insurance and the income. Bill never worked again. He started drinking first thing in the morning and I never knew what he would be like when I walked in the door at 5 after work. There were several Christians at my new job. Our life was hard- we had lost everything. I had lost my husband to the bottle.

I began looking for something that I could believe in. As I was questioning God, He sent lots of people into my life. Over several months, I was invited to go to a passion play (to a dress rehearsal). The minister of the church where this was held sat with me and explained parts of it as it went along. He talked to me about Christ and becoming a Christian. I decided at that time to trust Jesus as my Savior.

So, I went back to church on Sunday morning to do this! I put my full trust in Jesus on Palm Sunday 1997. After church, I went home and Bill and I talked about all of this-- I knew that it would make changes in our life. I really did not know how Bill would take my becoming a Christian. I do know that we loved each other. I also knew that I had a deep void in my life and only God could fill it. Bill listened to the plan of salvation (as much of it as I knew from that morning!) Bill did not accept Christ. He did not argue with me at all- He did say he did not want to be a church widow- and I said that I would not be in church everyday-- ;)

Monday, after Palm Sunday, I went to work and shared that I had become a believer. The beginning of that week was normal. Nothing different that I can even look back and see- Bill was drinking VERY heavy but that was not different. When I came home from work on Wed afternoon, I found my beloved husband dead. Unless you have been in this kind of place, you really do not know what it is like. I lost my best friend, my lover, my husband- yes, he drank, but he was a good guy. I still miss him. I am so glad that I found God in a deep real way before Bill passed away. I am not sure, I would have continued to "look" if I had not made that decision first. It is true, God knows what we need and what we can bare. That next months were almost unbearable. I was a new believer- so no Church family- I did have the Christians at my job, and I held onto that.

So, there I was a widow, broke, new empty-nester (my younger daughter moved to a city 5 hours south of me just a few months before Bill passed away) and my older daughter and my grand daughter lived in an apt several miles away. Empty condos are horrible. I am so glad that I had God, and I held onto Him.

After several months, Juan and I started to have dinner together- he was single and now I was, and we both had to eat. We had our first date more than a year later. We became really close friends. Juan had become a believer in his high school years. He was very stable in my big UPS and Downs-- Juan and I married in 2001. I am so glad that the Lord gave me another good guy- a Believer, my life is totally different than before. Juan is a bit younger than I am and he wanted children. That was the reason for our first adoption.Then the Lord placed on our hearts the great need to "take care of widows and orphans" and than the 2nd and 3rd adoptions just came as He saw fit.

Really, it is hard to write about years of "happenings" in a nutshell. I hope that this helps someone who is reading this. If you have been a reader of my blog, you know that I am totally open about everything- if you have questions or wonder about something- do not hesitate to ask me.

God is Good - ALL the time. I believe this and I am staking my life on this.

Blessings, Pamela Dawn

Recipes

2010-02-09T04:04:00.000-08:00

My daughter "L" asked me some time ago for some good recipes that the kids would like. So, I am writing a few out for her and anyone who might like them!!

Sorry "L"-- I found way too many for me to type-- (You know my keying issues!!!!)-- anyway hon, I am putting them in the mail --snail mail-- I am coping them today.

OK- someone asked for recipes using "lentils"-- Here are several that I use and my kids like. (I know I have interesting kids!!!)

Lentil,Kielbasa & Garlic Stew

2 TBS olive oil
2# turkey Kielbasa- cut in 1/2 " slices
1 lg onion-chopped
1 # carrots- 1/2 # half moons
4 med stalks celery
5 cloves garlic-crushed
6 cups water
2 cans (14oz each) chicken broth
2 cans (14.5oz ea) diced tomatoes
1 and 1/2 bags (16 oz each) lentils --picked over and rinsed

In 8 qt sauce pot heat 2 teas oil on med heat - add kielbasa and cook 4 to 5 min until browned- transfer to med bawl. In same pot use oil and add onions, carrots, celery- cook 15 min or until vegs are golden - stirring often. Stir in garlic --cook 1 min. Add water,broth, tomatoes,and lentils to pot; heat to boiling on high, Reduce heat to med and simmer uncovered 40 min. or until the lentils are tender. Stir in Kielbasa; heat thru. And serve. This makes 20 cups or 10 main dish servings. (this feeds my family with a loaf of homemade bread-- bread maker you guys!!!!

Vegetable Lentil Stew

4 cups V-8 or tomato juice
2 cans (14 oz ea) Italian stewed tomatoes
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans (raised and drained
1 can (15 oz ) garbanzo beans " " "
2 med carrots sliced thin
2 med potatoes cubed
1 lg onion-chopped
1 gr pepper chopped
1 sweet red pepper chopped
1 cup lentils
2 TBS minced parsley
2 tbs chili powder
2 teas dried basil
1 teas garlic powder
1 teas gr cumin
1 pkg (10 oz) fr chopped spinach
Topping:
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt
2 tbs chives

In dutch oven combine the first 15 ingred. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils and veg's are tender. Stir in spinach- heat thru. Combine the toppings and dollop a TBS on each serving.
makes 13 cups--
I added another 1 cup of lentils, another can of kidney beans and it made more than enough for our family main dish- I put corn bread with it. and I did not use the topping-- the kids do not like plain yogurt.

Italian Lentil and Veg Stew

1 and 1/2 cups dried lentils rinsed
1 and 1/4 peeled butternut squash-cut in 1 in chunks (about 3 cups)
2 cups marinara sauce
2 cups green beans
1 med red pepper cut in 1 in pieces
1 lg potato- cut in 1 in chunks
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 teas minced garlic
1 tbs olive oil
serve with grated Parmesan

Mix lentils and 3 cups water in lg slow cooker. In lg bawl mix remaining ingred except olive oil. place this on lentils
Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours Stir in oil.
this makes 5 main dish servings

I have not tried this one yet- I would just double everything for my family.

Last but not least- and my kids love this one!! weird

Black-Eyed Pea Sausage Stew
1pkg (16oz) smoked sausage links- halved and sliced
1 sm onion chopped
2 cans (15 oz ea) black eyed peas -rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup beef broth
1/4 teas garlic powder
1/4 teas Cajun seasoning
1/4 teas pepper
1/8 teas salt
1/8 teas cayenne pepper
1/8 hot pepper sauce
1 and 1/2 cups fr corn

this yields 6 main servings- I basically did the recipe 1 and 1/2 times-- fed us
In lg skillet cook sausage and onion until meat is lightly brown, drain, stir in peas,tomatoes,tomato sauce,broth and seasonings. Cook and stir for 10 to 15 minutes until hot, and bubbly. Stir in corn until heated thru.

Enjoy!!
Blessings, Pamela Dawn

Little Girls Night Out

2010-02-05T04:25:00.000-08:00

At some point you really need to teach girls how to shop "specials" "discounts" "On Sale"!!!!

So, last night, I had a wonderful coupon for dinner at Applebee's. (one kids meal and one meal at $5.50, $2.00 off another burger/meal leaving only one burger at regular price! ) YEA
So, the girls and I had a wonderful time-- This is when you find out about who likes who, if there is a "boy" friend in the picture, talk about classes- and little Zoe' feels so grown up!

Than we hit the mall- a going out of business store- kids got great shirts for $3.50 and 4.50. And another store a 70% off sale. All in all they did great!! And Zoe' got a build a bear- She named her Bailey. Love at first hug! I guess that was the only really "extra that we did- ;)
It sure made my child's day!

Blessings, Pamela

Back to School---

2010-02-04T04:08:00.000-08:00

OK, I love my kids- I do..... but, that love is stretched very thin by the end of the 4Th snow day and the 6th day in the house. OK they did go out to play some.

So, back to school today- I am so glad. I know that this is not about me- The kids are glad to be going back to school. See friends not have to do the silly things mom has asked for-- you know, play box games together with NO fighting. Put together a 3-D Lego monster. READ for 45 minutes and than tell me about the book (s). One of the days the kids got to clean!

I really have had thoughts of homeschooling. Several of the kids really need to move faster than they are are regular school and need more challenges. Today, I have really nixed that idea-- I know that I will come back to it- But, I need to figure out how to homeschool without killing the kids. (that defeats the purpose) Homeschooling would be different than snow days- as I hopefully would have the things for the kids to do each day....lol

Than I am even considering this idea is light years away from my former self- For years I was an enlightened atheist. I am so glad that God did not give up on me and sent people into my path along the way until I found Him. In the years before I knew Jesus, I thought that kids that were homeschooled were really anti-socal, were behind-- I have misjudged. I am sure that their are some anti-socal kids, but there are many in school too--- Anyway, I am really giving this a lot of thought-

Well, I am glad for school today! ;)
Blessings, Pam

Snow Day

2010-01-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

It looks like about 6 inches. That's a lot for southern Virginia. It was like Christmas for the kids. Unfortunately, it was too much snow to risk going out to the OBX for church today. The kids were so excited yesterday, that the boys were up and dressed at about 7:00 ready to go. I held them off until 8:00 so as not to wake up any neighbors. It was dry and powdery, so the kids couldn't put a snowman together. Of course, since we've become southerners, we don't have adequate winter wear that helps them to stay out all day; so they're only out for about an hour at a time.

We've taught the kids not to go in and out the house constantly. When Z came and rang the door, I thought she needed me to get something for her or to ask permission to go to a friend's house or something. Instead I got a earnest plea to come inside "to stay, 'cause I'm too cold."

Echo a prayer for Haiti

2010-01-30T04:34:00.000-08:00

In the wake of the devestation in Haiti, sometimes I can only cry in agony and say, "Lord PLEASE, do something!!" There are so many people, with so many needs, for so long. I want to echo this prayer I saw from a friend...

Lord, I just want to say THANK YOU...
Because this morning I woke up and knew where my children were.
Because this morning my home was still standing,
because this morning I am not crying because my husband/wife, my child, my brother or sister needs to be buried out from underneath a pile of concrete,
because this morning I was able to drink a glass of water,
because this morning I was able to turn on the light,
because this morning I was able to take a shower,
because this morning I was not planning a funeral,
but most of all I thank You this morning because I still have life and a voice to cry out for the people of Haiti.

Lord I cry out to You, the one that makes the impossible, possible,
the one that turns darkness into light,

I cry out that You give those mothers strength,
that You give them peace that surpasses all understanding,
that You may open the streets so that help can come,
that You may provide doctors, nurses, food, water, and all that they need in a blink of an eye.

For all those that have lost family members...
give them peace,
give them hope,
give them courage to continue to go on!

Protect the children and shield them with Your power.

I pray all this in the Name of Jesus!!!

To all my email/blog friends please continue to forward this so that we can pray together for the people in Haiti .

Will It Snow??

2010-01-29T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well, If it doesn't storm on Sunday, we are headed out to the Outer Banks to visit our old church and LOTS of friends! Now, this is a surprise so, please do not tell anyone that we are coming!!!!

It will be lots of fun to see everyone. ;)

We are ALL hoping that it does not storm! I need to walk on the beach again. Very calming.

Sharing! I try to share everything!!!

2010-01-27T04:17:00.000-08:00

Sharing!
Well, I came home from my MOST marvelous weekend-( one of the best that I've had in a long time) sicker than a dog. The drive home, the sicker I got. So, I did the right thing, I shared this horrible sickness (flu) with my beloved- today he is sicker than a dog. And you know what, I actually believe him, having been there.....

My time with "L" and family was wonderful. We had great meals, and I had a great time with the grandkids. Went to my favorate brunch place. I really like the area that my daughtor lives in. The day spa was to die for! It was so nice it must have been sinful! ALL in ALL we had wonderful birthdays! (hers and mine)

One of "L" passions is scrapbooking. I had a great time looking at the scrapbooks of the boys. Going to a scrapbook store and seeing how to do it right! She is so good at it! I was looking forward to starting on my project on Monday, first thing- Monday first thing, I was flat on my back!! oh well- I'll get it. Wed., today and I am now at least up out of bed!

Blessings, Pamela Dawn

Off to "little Birthday gift!!"

2010-01-22T05:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I am off to my gal "L" house. We are having a "girl;'s weekend- or mother-daughter weekend-- whatever we call it, I am so happy to be part of it!! Tomorrow, we will be treated like "princesses" at a day spa. And going to have brunch out at one of my most favorite places to eat. And BEST of all, I am going to get to spend some time tomorrow night with my little grandsons. (Just us!!! yea- we are sending mommy and daddy out for the night-- my little birthday gift to BOTH of us!!- me time with my favorite little guys and "L" with a night out--:)

Having the big bunch of kids that I do- it really took some planning to be able to leave!!- So, 2 meals in the refrig- and there is always pizza!-- The kids were so cute this AM before school- "are you really going?" yea, I'll be back on Sunday night-- "no- you can't go---- sure I can honey-- daddy will be here- ohhhh"--- I am glad that we are becoming a real family- ;)

Kind of a long drive, in a short amount of time- BUT well worth every minute-
Blessings, Pam

Romans

2010-01-15T16:46:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago, our pastor started a sermon series on Romans. I don't know how long it will take but, he said he was going to do the whole book and at the pace we're going, it's going to be several months. That doesn't bother me at all because Romans is my favorite book in the Bible.

I think I like Romans, because Paul sounds so human and down earth in this letter as compared to his other letters. He sounds like a man writing to his little brother. It's sounds like he's talking directly to me or about me most of the time. Though Hebrews is considered the Faith book, I like the way Paul teaches about faith in Romans. I like that Romans is kind of like Christianity For Dummies, and sometimes Paul's version of Chicken Soup for the Soul. If a "pre-Christian" is really looking to start somewhere, I like Romans. Whenever I try to share the gospel with anyone, I always tell them to read Mark (the shortest gospel, and it grabs your attention in a hurry), and then read Romans.

We've even begun reading Romans aloud at the dinner table (a chapter at a time) and having small discussions afterward. I can't think of a better book of the Bible to read to children...can you?

Happy Birthday!

2010-01-13T16:35:00.001-08:00

Today is my Honey Babe's birthday!

Please join in with me to bless her.

Pam may the Lord bless you with a joyous year. May He bless your hands and all that they do - and they do so, so much. May He bless you with good health and strength. May the Lord bless you with more new friends to share with. And may He bless you with more smiles and less tears.

I love you with an endless, fathomless love.

Your husband and friend
Juan

What would Jesus do?

2010-01-06T03:49:00.001-08:00

Juan and I receive emails about adoption and thinking about adoption from readers.
We feel honored to be able to be used even in just a small way and to let others know, "Hey, we've been there."

Because of the books out there about "birth order" we sometimes are asked how we feel about this. Lots of couples are very scared of what it might do to their family, how it will affect their current kids, and what kind of short- and long-term implications it might have. How did your oldest feel about no longer being the oldest? Maybe afraid that changing the birth order will be taking away from the child somehow in some way. How will this effect the child's emotions, self-worth, and their security.

We have changed the birth order of different kids in our family several times. I think that that change always creates some upheaval, but that is not always a bad thing. We have had Joey the longest and he has changed order several times. He would like to be the oldest boy, sometimes, but he likes having older and younger brothers more.

I think that the benefits really out weigh the negative thoughts of "birth order"
You are NOT taking anything AWAY from your children. Instead, what you are doing is imparting to them something eternal: You are expanding their capacity to love. Think about that for a minute before you read anything else. How do you plan to teach your child to love others unconditionally and in total compassion without giving them the opportunity to do so?

Our children have a greater capacity of love in their hearts than I could ever impart to them by just giving them a safe Christianity, by maintaining their status quo, by simply modeling "godliness" as parents (as if that's the end-all be-all for a Christian family). My kids...all of them...have lived out self-sacrifice and understand (because they live it!) that laying down one's life does not steal anything from us. That is the lie of the devil, who would have us believe that sacrifice is not worth it; that there is nothing for us in return; that God doesn't really mean what He says when He said to His followers that "anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [Because] Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:38-39).

Do you really believe that? That whoever LOSES his life for Jesus's sake, for Jesus the Orphan's sake, will actually FIND it? Ask yourself honestly. Because you might answer YES prematurely. I have no doubt that you might believe it for yourself, but do you really believe it for your children, too? That if they "lose" their "place" in the family that Jesus will instead impart to them LIFE? REAL life???

Consider the older orphan. Consider the sibling groups. Consider the ones who are not often considered.

And whatever you do on your adoption journey, PLEASE I beg you, do NOT steal from your children the opportunity for their love capacity to be expanded. Do not deny them the true gift of learning early in life that "My life is not my own."

When your first adopted child, who is now the middle child,after being knocked down from oldest to very middle prays for the orphans and asks to adopt again because children are hungry- your heart will beat out of your chest, not just because you can envision another child saved, but because you know that your child will NEVER EVER live a limited, safe Christian life. He won't even know what that means. In fact, he won't even have the capacity do so.

And all because you didn't limit your child. You didn't limit God.

Give your children the gift of the greater capacity to love. Let it ripple out into the future.

Let it change the world.
Blessings, Pamela Dawn

Back to school....

2010-01-06T03:12:00.000-08:00

After our Christmas break, the kids are now back to school. And love it!!! OK, all of them but one just love going to school. One of ours is just bored in school, is still doing review (he says) from last year. As he is making straight A's- I am not sure what to think, about this review thing I mean. I think the kid is very bright. So, what do we do- I talked to the school again yesterday- and they are finally going to test him for the gifted program. This decision is after 5 visits to the school and lots of talking to see what to do. As this child is not a problem in class at all- they basically just want to leave it alone- meanwhile, I get every morning, I have a headache, my stomach hurts, I hate school, can I stay home???? Hopefully, we have an answer with this program. (I am at this point seriously thinking of homeschooling at least him)

Now, the rest of the kids, just love their classes, school even the bus! With the 3 newest members home now from Ethiopia we have started their shots. Yesterday, was shot day. They are all doing fine.

Justin is needing the most help with his English. The littler ones are really doing well. I am not sure what to do to help him more. I think sometimes our Father in Heaven looks at us (or maybe just me...) and says, I can help you- just let me. I have everything you need, just ask me. I want to help, be your father/mother-just let me. this year I am letting God my father help me more.

We continue to pray daily for each of our kids. Thank you for your prayers, love and concern for us.

Blessings, Pamela Dawn

Yea!! Another family that LOOKS like OURS!!!

2010-01-03T05:06:00.000-08:00

We had the BEST time yesterday! The Kids loved every minute and I think that our new friends' kids did too!!

So, they have a multicultural home, and have the same issues that we do-- It did just a world of good to be able to sit and talk all afternoon about "the kids" and what they do, what we do, what works, what doesn't work.... It was all good.

We shared lunch and dinner with them, and just had a ball in the middle. The kids played games, played ping pong (until it got too cold) played guns...and did hair--new braids for some!! and ate and ate!! All great- ;) The nest plan is to make Ethiopian food!

As they live just under an hour away from us now, we plan on doing this ALOT-- Being in the adoption world, it just does so good for the Ethiopian kids to be around acting and reacting with other Ethiopian kids.

Having fun

2010-01-01T07:00:00.001-08:00

A Blessed New Year

2010-01-01T05:55:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!
2009 - What a year! And we ended it with a bang.

Tuesday, Pam took 4 of the kids to meet my sister "T" halfway between our place and hers. "T" wanted to spend some Auntie time with the kids. Mine got to spend some quality time with her and her children for a couple of days. They really enjoyed it. Pam then went yesterday to pick them up - about 2 and a half hours each way. "T" sent them home with a ton of boy's clothes for our boys. "T" has 4 boys and we have 4 boys, thankfully ours are younger than hers.

Thanks "T"!

Then last night we went out as a family to join in with a bunch of families to one home for a night of fun and mystery solving. "The mystery Of The Stolen Menorah". Everybody had parts to play in trying to solve the mystery. Everyone had fun. We didn't hang around to ring in the New Year, so we left for home about 10:30 or so.

On the way home we talked together as a family and one of the things we said was this will be a blessed year. And our goal is to make it a calm year. No moving, no job changes, no new kids, no fighting, no biting (That's an inside laugh with the youngest kids about that because I tell them that as they leave for school). We want 2010 to be a "normal" year.

I do plan a goal of running in the Outer Banks Marathon this year. We'll see how that goes.

Pam was exhausted from her drive, so when we got home she went right to bed. I let all of the kids stay up and we watched the New Year's Eve celebration on TV. The youngest ones went to bed about 10min after the Big Ball Drop in NYC. "L", "A", and I stayed up watching more celebration until 1:30. "A" got a call from one friend wishing her a Happy New Year at midnight. She tried calling her brother "C" but he didn't answer.

Then one of "L's" friends called to say hi, etc. And get this...asked her to come walk down to see her (she lives in the neighborhood). This girl and some friends were hanging out outside somewhere. At 12 o'clock at night!! "L" knew better than to even ask me if she could. She thought it was funny that the girl would ask her.

I'm sorry, but my kids got saddled with having Old School dad. I see no reason for a kid of any minor age hanging out outside past bed time. Unfortunately for mine, their dad still remembers the announcements on TV that said, "It's 9:00. Do you know where your children are?" So help me God...as long as I'm alive and they're minors, I will always be able to answer that question, without a doubt. And Lord help them if ever I can't.

Well, I've got to put in some pictures one of these days.

Happy Christmas!

2009-12-27T05:04:00.000-08:00

Sounds funny when you say it that way, doesn't it? I like to throw people off sometimes. We are having a very happy Christmas weekend. Christmas morning, the kids were so excited - of course. But Pam surprised me again. She was up before the kids were. She actually called out to them, "MERRY CHRISTMAS, COME ON KIDS!!" The kids came piling down the stairs, mouth agape, eyes wide and the room quickly filled with "WHOA!!" I think that's what parents love to see and hear. Pam was the designated gift giver outer. It always warms our hearts to see the surprised and almost "can't believe it" looks on their faces when they get certain special gifts.

The unfortunate thing for all parents is to see the countless hours of gift wrapping turned to shreds in a matter of moments. Just like the countless hours spent in the kitchen turned to dirty dishes and burps in a matter of minutes.

"C" came in with his girlfriend "R" (we're trying to make her feel at home, as much as we can) in the early afternoon. We exchanged gifts, again. "C" bought and brought a TON of board games for the family and kids.

We watch movies together. Talk, talk talk and share. I absolutely love this! FAMILY.

Well, off to church!

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Blessings
This has been a Christmas season with such mixed times and feelings. It has and IS so much fun watching the kids with their first Christmas!- And the little ones with all of their Christmas tree ornaments that they made in school- such fun to see them hanging them up and so proud of them... This is their first Christmas tree, first year with gifts. (we are having a lot of "I wants.." ) Tonight will be some of the kids first Christmas Eve service. Joey is an old hand at this now!! He has put together so many little gifts this year- I am so proud of him, I think that the Lord has really gotten his heart. This is what we want as parents. L, A, and J are having fun this year too. The girls has a special Ethiopian Christmas. They both love to be in the kitchen. They made a bunch of Christmas cookies the other day. With 7 kids- the cookies go fast!
We will post pictures tomorrow!
Thank you all for your continued prayer and love for our family
Pamela Dawn

Merry Christmas from ALL of us to ALL of you!

2009-12-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

2009
A year with lots of very LARGE changes

Meet our beautiful children: Leah will be 17 on December 30, Analyse is 15, Justin is 12, Joey (Formally Known as Dylan) is 10, Zoë is 9, Jaden and Davis are both 8. After our whirlwind trip to Ethiopia, the Lord brought our 3 newest ones home to us this past June. Justin, Zoë and Davis are adjusting fine to their new lives in the US and being part of the Johnson’s. Already they have each grown more than an inch in height and their vocabulary is picking up nicely. Dylan decided that he wanted a new name in June too. He picked Joseph, our new Joey! Again, so many first NEW things and fun adventures for ALL!

This past summer we moved to Chesapeake Virginia for Juan’s new job with (gulp) the government. Pam is now a work-at-home mom and she is still trying to get used to the new role. Though we live in the Chesapeake Bay/Tide Water area and our cities are surrounded by water, we no longer live on the water and we miss the Outer Banks, fiercely. We’re still trying to get used to living in a city after living the wonderful beach life.

All the children are doing well in school. We have some soccer champs, some Honor Roll students, some who are just learning English and some who are perfecting their English. We have beautiful friends who helped us welcome home our newest ones, and helped us through the first hard months of new and expanded needs of a very large family. We usually take up an entire row at church on Sundays.

We’ve found a good church home at New Life Providence, in Virginia Beach. We’re still trying to get used to it and find our purpose in this local church family. As the Johnson Family has grown, so have our blessings as well as our stresses. The Lord has been and continues to be good to us in every way. God is GOOD all the time!

We pray that the Lord God blesses each and every one of you with continued health, well being, and joy in this time when we remember the birth of Jesus.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Johnson29708@yahoo.com
http://www.familyjohnsonobx.blogspot.com/

Our Ethiopian Christmas Dinner!

2009-12-14T04:42:00.000-08:00

We had an Ethiopian Christmas Dinnerlike the girls remembered from their younger years. The kids were ALL in 7th heaven! (and Daddy loves this food too!!!) Our "L" made injera on Sat. We had ordered Teft (Ethiopian grain). Sometimes in the US we use cornmeal as the grain- but , it just isn't real injera! So, the kids were HAPPY!!

We invited some close friends from the beach. They had never had Ethiopian food, and had not eaten with their fingers since babyhood!!!!! LOL WE had so much fun. This will become an every year event!

A wonderful friend of my friends, is a painter and did a BEAUTIFUL picture of Ethiopian children running and playing. Several in the picture look like my kids!! My friends got me a print of this wonderful picture-- I am SO thrilled-- I LOVE it!! Thank you guys so much! And it is going up in the living room today!!!

We are going to do some Ethiopian dinners (not quite as BIG as yesterdays!!) but dinners every month- Just drop me a line if you want to come!!
Blessings to you all
Pamela Dawn

Ups and Downs

2009-12-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

This week sure has had it's share of ups and downs!

Up: Yea! I was able to drive back down to the beach and share "Christmas Brunch" with my old small group Bible study group. Oh, it was so sweet to be able to be back and to share with them. It was a wonderful time in the Word and with Great food! Thank you ladies for including me. I was very honored to be there.

Down: ugh-- I lost my job this week. Last Sept, my job went down to part time (2 hours a day, on the computer from home-- that was so good for us-- ) Well, down sizing and budget cuts-- you all know the stories... This little job had been buying the food for the family- Juan's new job, was a very large pay cut from the last job. We are so thankful that he has a job!
I know that the Lord is not surprised by any of this, and I know that He is and will take care of us. Just not great timing for the lose....

Up: Yea! Justin's ESL teacher completed a large project on teaching English to Ethiopian children. And she was interviewed for the newspaper here in our city. The Reporter wanted to meet her Ethiopian student, so Justin was interviewed also! He was so excited!-- Really great to see him be so positive!- From this, the reporter would like to do a story on the whole family-- Will let you know if that comes about!!

Down: ugh... Joey has a condition that produces sores in his mouth, (mostly from stress, but also from his retainer, biting his mouth, a hard piece of chips, ) The sores become large and sometimes infected. We are all learning how to prevent the sores and how to help Joey live with them... poor little guy- ;(

Up: Yea! This is our first Christmas as 9 of us! The 3 new little ones are so excited! It is Great to watch! All of the kids are looking for ways to make gifts and things to do to help us as parents out. As each different Christmas decoration goes up-- they LOVE it! All of the kids had so much fun decorating the tree.

Down: ugh.....this year there will not be as many boxes under the tree.

Up: YEA! We are having our first true Ethiopian Christmas on Sunday. We have invited some DEAR dear friends to join us! The girls are cooking a FULL Ethiopian Christmas dinner. ALL of the kids can't wait- The injeria and dorawat is on all of their minds! Our kids did not have gifts and toys in Ethiopia, their Christmas day- they were excited to be able to buy a little extra chicken to have a chicken stew. We had a practice run a few weeks ago making the injeria-- It was wonderful!

Down: ugh...can't think of any other downs! That is great!!

Up: YEA!- We know that our Lord is in control. He loves us very MUCH and He is taking care of us. We have been so blessed to have these children in our home.

Thank you all for your prayers and love! Blessings to you

A blessing

2009-12-05T16:05:00.000-08:00

Today, I watched our daughters decorate our Christmas tree. I heard some of the younger ones downstairs playing on their computer. Some of the boys were playing with their brother's dog, Carlito. Our son "C" and his girlfriend "R", dropped in from Charlotte this morning for a surprise visit - at 6:00am! They brought one his dogs with them. Carlito is a beautiful grey pit bull terrier.

This literally brought me to tears. These sights and sounds are blessings straight from our Lord. The sound of a happy and peaceful family. I want to say we're "functional", because everybody always describes their family as "dysfunctional". Pam and I love and respect each other and the kids. We're not perfect and we're definitely not wealthy (by American standards). We have a home chocked full of LOVE and we are all continually working on being a whole together Johnson Family.

Satan continually attacks the family because it is at the root of what God wants for His children. We fight and pray against him as he tries to attack our family at every turn. We have to take into account all the stressers in our lives and pray for wisdom and peace above all things.

One day, Pam and I were doing one of those couples workshops and took this little stress assessment. According to that assessment, we were prime candidates for divorce and/or suicide. In the past 12 years, we've both lost spouses, we moved 7 times, we lost multiple jobs, we gained 7 children and took on a lot debt in the process. I find it amazing...I don't feel like suicidal and I wouldn't trade this woman in for anyone on this planet. Ok, maybe Halle Berry. LOL

What I do feel is hope. Hope in the sense that I know the word of the Lord and He promises to be with us and to never leave us, no matter how it "feels". He is there when we have to make decisions. He's there when we don't know where the money is going to come from. He's there when our children need us and we're mere mortals with limited wisdom and resources. He will always be here. This I know.

Ad hoc Family Reunion

2009-11-29T14:08:00.000-08:00

Mom, Dad, Pam, and Sister "T"

"A" and cousins

Dad, Pam, and Sister "K"

Sister "T", cousins and Sister "K"

Warning - Our camera is crapping out on us so these will be a bit blurry. I have to get a new one.

This is going to be rather lengthy, I believe...

We planned to travel down to Lawrenceville GA to see my parents for Thanksgiving. What was to make it special what that they hadn't seen the last 3Who R Ours. And, we were to see my two brothers who hadn't met any of the 6 from Ethiopia. Well, actually I have one brother who I hadn't seen in almost 20 years (long story -another time perhaps), so he hadn't even met Pam or any of the kids. Then I find out just a couple of days before Thanksgiving, that my two sisters were going to be there too. One sister I hadn't seen in a few years hadn't met any of the kids from Ethiopia, and the other sister hadn't met the newest ones. OK, so we don't travel to visit each other much (we're kind of spread out, and there's always some excuse or other for someone not being there).

Unfortunately, my brother who I hadn't seen in 20 years couldn't be there (another long story) to see the kids, but all the rest of us were there. It was the first time in 30 YEARS that the 4 of us had been in the same place at the same time. It was 30 years ago September that I left home to join the Air Force.

Now I have 12 children (between hers, mine and ours) and 3 grandchildren; Brother "D" has one adult daughter; Sister, "K" has 4 adult children, and 2 grandchildren; Sister "T" has 5 children, and Brother "B" has 3 boys. So that's 25 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren for my parents. Of course we're spread out all of the country and we're no where close to being like The Waltons. But hey, I can dream.

Anyway, the get together was phenomenal! My parents have a little house, and we were all stepping all over each other trying to get around. The kids tried to play outside as much as they could. They played video games together, talked, went to the movies together. (I had 10 boys in our van - it was a blast!) My mama fretted about having such a small house, I had to reassure her that it's not the home that grandchildren remember, it's the love. And let me tell you there was LOVE all over that house. We had a blast, the kids had a blast, and my parents were in Grandma/Grandpa Heaven! My daddy got to sit and tell stories to my daughters - I get my humor and love for story telling from him. My mama got to sit and just watch her "grand babies" and she was in tears she was so happy.

Nothing on earth beats having a family.

A side note... Our family is working on being "trans ethnic". My birth family is African American, my wife is white (I figure Scotch/Irish-red hair abounds), one son is Chinese, and 6 children are Ethiopian. Our son "C" is dating a young lady who's El Salvadorean. Brother "B" was married to a Jamaican and he has the 3 boys. Sister "K" has one son married to a Russian young lady (They're both struggling models/actors in NYC), and has one daughter dating an Iranian young man (He's from Alabama, LOL). I can't wait for the family reunion 10 years from now. We'll have quite the pictures to share.

We're all doing fine

2009-11-21T04:24:00.000-08:00

Our son "C" is doing well. He called me on his way home the other day and was happy to be out and about. His doctors will have to ascertain whether it is best to keep him "in" and work with him or put him before a medical board and perhaps medically retire him. We'll see what the Lord decides.

Thank you all again for all of your prayers.

Our landlord had to pull the carpet out, and Pam talked him into just leaving the old vinyl flooring the way it was. We'd much rather put out area rugs that we could roll up in future flood situations. We finally got the kids computer hooked up and running last night, they missed it terribly. We had moved it out of the family room and didn't have anywhere to set up a temporary station for it.

We lost a lot of momentos in the garage. That was the thing that hurt the most. We've been slow about moving things into the house to hang up, and had much less room to put them around to display...now they're gone. Oh well, on to making more memories!

Report cards came out. We got 2 honor roll kids, and 1 that had all highest marks (too young for honor yet). We have one that's struggling fiercely. The new ones are all progressing well and working hard.

Funny story:
"A", our 8th grade daughter, was in line to get her H1N1 flu shot at school. The person at the desk asked for her name. For most people in 8th grade that's normally not a problem. Well, we changed all of the children's first names when we brought them home. However, we'd been dragging our feet about re-adoptions, so their legal names are still their birth names. They have to remember that when asked. The school uses their legal name. Ok, still not a problem, if you've spent your life spelling your name in English letters...which she hadn't. She hesitated first because she couldn't remember it, then again when she was asked to spell it. She saw the name on the paper and pointed to it and said, "There, that's it." What made it even more difficult for her is that the school had had it misspelled for the first couple of months before we finally got someone to correct it, so she wasn't sure if they had it right or not. Then the lady asked for her birthday! LOL She knows what day her birthday is, but couldn't remember what year it is because she just used to responding with how old she is. LOL (With the Ethiopian calendar being nothing like ours, it makes it hard for her to transition)

By the way, we just finished our re-adoption of our first 3 (L, H, & J) and are waiting for some letter from the Dept of something or other that allows us to get their new birth certificates.

We have to start on our next three. We did the 1st 3 in NC, the next 3 will be in VA. Is there anyone out there who've done re-adoptions in VA by themselves? I found this one web site that tell you how to do it (for Norfolk residents) and I just need a little help in understanding some of the steps and documents.
Thanks
Juan

Daddy's Home

2009-11-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

I drove to Charlotte NC to see our son who is in the hospital for a few days for observation. "C" is an active duty US Marine, who served two tours of duty in Iraq. Because of his experiences, he struggles on and off with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Unfortunately, this is not like the flu or any other disease. The symptoms are different for each person, the timing of issues are unpredictable, and the reactions to stresses can sometimes be extreme. Therefore, the treatments are not always successful or at least not long lasting or permanent.

I felt that I just needed to be there for him to assure him of our love, and the Lord's love. Our visits went extremely well and I expect to hear from him midweek when he goes home.

Thank you for all of your prayers for me, our son and our family.

B-T-W, Charlotte was beautiful, and the weather was fantastic.

Clean-up

2009-11-15T06:17:00.000-08:00

The rain has finally stopped! Yesterday it rained on and off, but not hard at any point. Today the sun is out! YEA---
The carpet guy came late yesterday afternoon. Dried out the carpet as much as the machine could!-- and now we have BIG industrial fans blowing. They pulled the mat out from the carpet, to help it dry faster. We do have nice floor under the old carpet, so I call the landlord to see if we can just get rid of the carpet. Waiting on an answer for that.
So, with Juan on the road I had to move everything out of the family room-- (In the storm, we moved all of the small things up on to the desks, table chairs-- you get the idea!-- So, I moved all of the "big" things- desks, etc to the mud room and out into the garage. I AM so thankful that those 2 areas are dry.
We have about 15 storage boxes that are ruined. I am thankful- about 3 weeks ago, I moved all of our boxed Christmas things into the house from the floor in the garage. Or they would be gone too- Praise God!
Our family is pulling together more, and none of us were hurt in this storm-- only "things" are gone-- and they are just things!
Blessings, Pam

Charlotte

2009-11-15T06:10:00.000-08:00

Daddy made it to Charlotte in really good time- Saw his son "C" at the 5;00 visiting hours. "C" was very happy to see his dad and it made the long trip worth every minute. Juan's son is doing well and will be able to be discharged from the hospital on Monday or Tues.

Juan is staying today to visit at the first visiting hours and then will start the trip home. He is so new at his job, he really can not miss work on Monday.

We are thanking the Lord for His mercy in all of this. Things could be so much worse with "C", but God is merciful.

Sometimes our kids just need to be hugged and have us there.
Blessings, Pam

Please PRAY

2009-11-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

Please Pray

Juan is on the road to Charlotte, NC. It is about a 7 hour drive from us. Please pray for his adult son. At this point, "C" is in the hospital there and we are not sure of all of the details- just know that Juan needs to be with his son.

The kids and I are home, and have started the clean-up. The whole first floor of the house was under about 5 inches of water- the water has gone down, but left ed a mess and smelly wet carpet! We got a wet-vac last night. Helpful but not the end-all!

We are not sure how long daddy will be gone- And we are in prayer for "C".

Blessings, Pam

Water, Water Everywhere!

2009-11-13T05:05:00.000-08:00

Front yard

Back yard. Our cars are actually on a hill that's about 2 ft about the street.

We are in the middle of our first Nor'easter here in the Tidewater region. Now I know why they call it "Tidewater". We've had virtually non-stop rain since Wednesday and yesterday the water came in the house with the high tide. We lived 3 years on the OBX, and never had so much as a drip (except for a leaky skylight once). Last night we had 3-4 inches of water on our first level which is our family room and our oldest daughter's bedroom. We cleared everything off of the floor that we could.

The neat thing was listening to my children's heartfelt prayers as we stood in a family circle of prayer. We could actually feel the water getting deeper as we stood there praying. Within an hour the water was ankle deep.

When we finished praying, I called my prayer warrior of a mom. My mama got out the word to all her prayer warriors (my sisters and brothers, her sisters and brothers, and friends).

We didn't know about the tide flood, so when the water first started coming in, we all got out as many towels as we could and started forming makeshift "sandbags" at the doors and started sopping of the water with the rest of the towels. Our arms gave out as the water got deeper.

The water started going down about 10pm or so and by morning it was all out of the house, (except for what was in the carpets). But as I sit here right now, the morning tide has come in again and I'm watching the yard slowly disappear. The water in the streets are about 2-3 feet deep.

Please pray for our family, neighborhood, city and region.

A sign of maturity

2009-11-11T18:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight Pam and I were up in our bedroom when our 10 year son, "D" came in the room. "Mom, I did something stupid." I turned around and I saw his face, red and covered in tears. Then I saw that he was holding his right thumb in his left hand and blood was all over the place. So we rushed him in the the bathroom and started rushing water over it to see what the extent of the damage was. "It was really stupid, I'm sorry" He was crying out of both physical and emotional pain.

So I took the soft approach, "What happened big guy?"

"I was looking in the trash can to see if I accidentally threw away my notebook and I shot myself with a needle?" This was very curious, because I see blood coming from the pad of his thumb and through a hole in the middle of the nail.

"A needle? How'd you get a needle into your thumb like this?" At the same time, I wrapped him in a hug so assure him that everything was going to be alright.

"I was stupid and shouldn't have bothered it." So "D", Mom and Dad head downstairs to get some ice on it before it started swelling.

"Hey, mistakes happen 'D', don't worry. It's going to be alright." We went and looked in the trash can that he indicated and found a spent Epi-Pin. I had thrown it out because it expired a few months ago. It was my fault, I should have disposed of the thing outside in trashcan. It's a spring loaded hypodermic needle we have because "D" is allergic to bees and red ants. Thankfully, we've not had to use it before. Unfortunately, "D" didn't know that the needle was so long, so he thought he'd just push the trigger and see if it would hurt. Yup, it hurts! The spring was so strong, the needle went completely through his thumb, apparently just missing the bone.

The neat thing was watching how mature he was during the process. He admitted his mistake, told the truth, and sought help before letting things possibly get out of hand.

It made me proud.

Injera and Doro Wot

2009-11-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

My little princess made Injera and Doro Wot for dinner Sunday. It was great! We ordered Teff on the Internet. You should have seen her face as she was stirring and making plans. I could just feel her heart swelling.

The smell was enticing through out the house as the onions were simmering in the Berbere. Everybody had a blast, especially A. Everybody but Princess herself, something was upsetting her tummy and she didn't get to eat any because she was nausous the whole time. :o(

This was sort of dress rehearsal for Christmas when we will have a full on Ethiopian Christmas dinner. We're not making the traditional drink though. I forget what it's called, but essentially it's a homemade beer. Pam and I laughed ourselves to tears when we figured out what it was that they were trying to describe, not knowing what it was in English.

Another Birthday Boy

2009-11-09T19:01:00.001-08:00

J. Our oldest son at home is now 12 years old.

J. chose Chinese food for dinner and we had vanilla cake with cream cheese icing.

He received a new skate board and a"Bop it". At the pace the Bop it is being played with by all the kids, we'll have to buy a new one for the next kids birthday to replace it.

Pray for your Husbands

2009-11-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

She does him good . . .” (Proverbs 31:12a)
Bless your husband by praying for him! The Apostle Paul instructed all Christians to pray for one another (Ephesians 6:18).
This includes wives’ responsibility and privilege to pray for their husbands.
Earnest prayer for your husband is good for him, for you and the spiritual health of your home (Proverbs 31:11-12).
Satan desires to destroy your husband, especially his character and his leadership in your relationship.
Trust God through prayer as you daily surrender your husband and marriage to the Lord’s wise, loving care.Days 1-7
I Encourage you to print these off and pray each day and see what happens!

Day 1
Pray that your husband will grow spiritually and consider his accountability before the Lord. Pray that he will guard his heart by developing spiritual disciplines—Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, scripture memorization, etc. (2 Peter 3:18; Prov. 4:23)

Day 2
Pray that your husband’s relationship with God and His Word will bear fruit in his life. Pray that he will be a man of wisdom and understanding, fearing the Lord. (Prov. 3:7, 9:10; Ps. 112:1)

Day 3
Pray that your husband will be humble and quick to agree with God about his sin. Pray that his heart will be tender toward the voice of the Lord. (Ps. 51:2-4; Micah 6:8)

Day 4
Pray that your husband will grow in leadership skills in your relationship—protecting and providing for you. Pray that he will lead you wisely and love you sacrificially, so that God will be glorified in your marriage. (Eph. 5:25-29; Col. 3:19)

Day 5
Pray that your husband will be faithful to his wedding vows. Pray that he will have a desire to cultivate your relationship as a sign of his loyalty and commitment to you, and as a picture of Christ’s love for the Church. (Prov. 20:6; Gen. 2:24)

Day 6
Pray that your husband will love righteousness and hate wickedness, especially the evils of the culture. Pray that he will recognize and avoid wickedness in his own life, and if necessary, take a clear, strong stand against evil. (Prov. 27:12; John 17:15; 1 Cor. 10:12-13)

Day 7
Pray that your husband will safeguard his heart against inappropriate relationships with the opposite sex. Pray that his heart will be pure and undivided in his commitment to you. (Prov. 6:23-24, 26; Rom. 13:14)

Day 8
Pray that your husband will work hard to provide for your family, to the best of his ability. Pray that the character qualities necessary for a successful career and ministry will be a growing part of his character—persistence, decisiveness, strength, an analytical mind, organizational skills, positive relationships with people, determination, etc. (Rom. 12:11; 1 Cor. 15:58)

Day 9
Pray that your husband handle finances wisely, will have discernment concerning budgeting and investments, and will be a good steward of his money in regard to giving to the Lord’s work. Pray that money will not become a source of discord in your family. (Prov. 23:4-5; Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:5)

Day 10
Pray that your husband will cultivate strong integrity, and not compromise his convictions. Pray that his testimony will be genuine, that he will be honest in his business dealings, and will never do anything that he needs to hide from others. (Prov. 20:7; 1 Tim. 1:5, 3:7; Eph. 6:10-12)

Day 11
Pray that your husband will have a humble, teachable spirit and a servant’s heart before the Lord. Pray that he will listen to God and desire to do His will. (Prov. 15:33; Eph. 6:6)

Day 12
Pray that your husband will yield his s*xual drive to the Lord and practice self control. Pray that your s*xual intimacy together will be fresh, positive, and a reflection of selfless love. (Prov. 5:15, 18; 1 Cor. 7:3; Song of Solomon 7:10)

Day 13
Pray that your husband use practical skills to build your family and make wise decisions for your welfare. Pray that he will serve unselfishly. (Gal. 5:13; Phil. 2:3-4)

Day 14
Pray that your husband will speak words that build you and your family, and reflect a heart of love. Pray that he will not use filthy language. (Prov. 18:21; Eph. 4:29)

by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Daddy had a birthday!

2009-10-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Yup! My 49th birthday...Oww!!! That hurts just to say it. Actually it looks worse on paper than it feels. I'm sure everyone remembers hearing their parents talk about they don't feel like they're getting any older, but the signs keep showing up to prove that they are. I actually don't feel any older today than I did 10 years ago when I turned 40. I actually think my 40th was my most favorite and active year. I ran a mini-marathon, graduated with my MBA, and took a month long trip through Europe (backpacking) with my Honey.

Now I'm still as healthy as the proverbial horse, I still haven't had a single cavity on any of my teeth, I have 7 great and beautiful kids, a great new job, a new town, and I have a beautiful, loving wife to share it all with. Let me tell you, life doesn't not get much better than this.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR ONE MORE YEAR!!

I believe we've found a church

2009-10-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

I believe we've found a church home. New Life Providence in Virginia Beach is a rather large charismatic church. The thing that makes it a good church, is what I heard the pastor say today. He said they have three core values - Prayer, Worship, and the Word of God. Everything else secondary. They have lots of small groups available; Pam and I will have to start trying them out. They have a strong youth ministry and missionary ministry.

Another inviting thing is they strive to be a multi-ethnic church. It reminds me of the church home we had in Charlotte. A memorable experience we had first going in is that no one seem to recognize us as visitors. I know some would find that as offensive, but when we walk our whole tribe into a church, we tend to be the only Black people or at least we stick out because we've increased their black population exponentially. This church has people from many different ethnic backgrounds, so we don't stick out except there are a bunch of us. My kids (especially the girls) like that.

Now we'll have to find a ministry to plug into. Keep praying.

While you're praying, please pray for our finances or at least for patience and wisdom on my part. I tend to worry about that and I know that it doesn't please God for me to worry about anything.

Birthday Girl!

2009-10-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Our youngest baby girl had her first birthday celebration. They never celebrated birthdays or anniversaries in their culture. I think there were a lot more important things living and surviving for the day and thanking God for another day of life. Because they didn't celebrate birthdays, they don't even remember what their birthdays were on the Ethiopian calendar. The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months and their year is 6 or 7 years behind ours.

Each of the kids in the family get to pick what's for dinner. "Z" chose Buffalo wings and fries. She's a girl after my own heart! We couldn't find any spicy ones at WalMart, so we added on generous doses of Texas Pete! Everybody but Mom and "D", that is.

Family Fun Day Out

2009-10-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Busch Gardens, and boy did we pick the best day ever. It was sunshine and high 70's all day. With the summer season over, we got to ride any of the rides we wanted to and were able to get off and jump right back in line to ride again. It was fantastic.

A couple of the kids weren't too keen on high/fast rides, so they stayed behind and just watched a lot. But the most fun to be had was by Mom!! I could not believe how much she loves roller coasters. She road EVERY roller coaster and most of them at least 3 times! One roller coaster she road 5 times, and it was the scariest one of them all. My stomach called "surrender" about 3/4 of the way through the day. Did my honey stay behind and help me nurse my queezy stomach? Not for a second! LOL I don't think I have every seen oneyone have so much fun in such a short period of time. Her arms were raised on every ride she could get her arms up on. I looked over once to see her little legs pointing straight out, her arms straight up, and her mouth wide open, screaming with delight. It is worth getting season tickets just to watch her have so much fun.

The kids had a blast, of course and we had a great time together as family. Nobody got lost, sick or bored. The older girls discovered that they can scream "like the girls on the movies". That was hilarious to hear.

Sometimes, I don't want to feel like an adoptive father.

2009-09-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

The one thing that I want more than a lot of other things is to not feel like an adoptive father. Oh I love my babies as much as life itself. I hug them, kiss them (to distraction), talk to them (to boredom sometimes), laugh with them (or at them), scold them and watch them sometimes as they sleep. But what I want sometimes is to feel so normal that I forget that they came here by our choice and God's providence.

I know that it will never happen, it is just a wish. Feeling like an adoptive father takes prayer, concentration, work, effort, strength, and more prayer. I can't just watch them in action and just laugh or cry. I have to think through the glasses of an adoptive father. When they tell me something, I can't just say, "Yeah, uh huh, that's nice sweety." I have to stop and think of what they told me and why they told me or why they told me instead of Mommy . When I listen to two of them squabble, I have to stop and try to think about all the factors.

It's a lot like the project chart...

Were they raised together before coming here? If "yes", go to action set A, if "no" go to action set B. Are they within about a year's age difference? If "yes" go to action set C, if "no" go to action set D. Did either of the children have attachment issues upon arrival? If "yes" go to action set E, if "no" go to action set F. Was child A raised with a father? If "yes" go to action G, if "no" go to action "H"... and on and on until I come up with a plausible response or action. This of course doesn't guarantee a successful outcome. Oh, on the contrary! But if I just hamfistedly handled things without giving these factors any thought, I know I would be wrong most every time!

When I persistently ask my girls for kisses, I do it for a purpose other than to just embarrass them. When I ask my sons to assist me in a chore, it's more than just raising boys. (I kiss them too, by the way). Nurturing my babies is more than just being in their lives. Developing bonds and attachment with older adopted children is a TON of hard work. As the saying goes...this ain't for wimps or for the light of heart. I have to hold my ego aside and forget the thought that I'm the daddy and they are just supposed to love and adore me. They don't. Though I love them eternally and unconditionally, I have to earn their trust and respect - and with that may come real love.

I have to measure my words. I stop and think, how will this affect them, how will it affect their relationship with me, with their mom, with God?

When I think about their possible paths into adulthood, I have to even ponder the possibility that one or any of them may not fully appreciate what was done for and with them. They may go on about their way and never look back. I've read stories like that. But the only way for me to get them to love me whole-heartedly is to give them my whole heart to do with as they will.

Jesus is teaching me life lessons through this whole thing. He adopted me, loves me and does everything He knows to do for me and it's up to me to stay with Him and love Him. I'm watching, listening, and trying to learn...but MAN is this tough and tiring! As the Army ad used to say..."the toughest job you'll ever love."

Lord grant me the grace and strength to be the son you want me to be. Grant me love and strenth to the husband my wife needs be. Grant me the wisdom and strength to be the father and dad my children need me to be.

Another day with the Johnson Clan

2009-09-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

This morning we had planned on taking the kids to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, but the weather called for rain all day- and of course, it didn't so much as a drop come down. I saved up all my per diem from my month in school so we'd have the money to go. Let's hope next week-end will turn out better.

One thing that kinda angered me was we looked at 4 different web sites for weather; none of them agreed except to say that there was a chance for rain. They ranged from 25% to 75% chance of either steady rain or thunderstorms. I thought meteorology was somewhat of an exact science. I thought wrong.

So, we spent the day catching up on chores - lawn care, grocery shopping, house cleaning, hair cuts, etc. While I was doing the lawn edges with a weed eater I looked over and saw the two older girls literally having a tug-of-war over whose turn it was to cut the grass. The three oldest children cut the grass, taking turns as one gets tired the next steps in. And they're fighting to be next. The novelty of using a lawn mower hasn't worn off yet - thank goodness. They don't argue over whose turn it is to wash the dishes. ;o)

Pam and I did the commissary trip by ourselves. It's amazing what parents will cherish as "alone time", isn't it? We go almost 25 miles to the commissary because the prices are usually so much lower than Walmart, et al. We still have to be careful because there are a few items that Walmart is able to sell cheaper. We can still get some items like napkins at the Dollar Store.

I do the boy's hair cuts. One evening of cuts, and you save the price of a new set of clippers. I'm getting fairly good at it. Except for D's hair. Long and straight hair I can't seem to get right. I can do short with no problem.

At dinner we discussed Ethiopian spices and cooking. It's neat to watch the fire in the kids eyes. Food is a good memory for all of them. They laugh and giggle and are all animated when we talk about food from "home". The oldest girls are planning on making a huge dinner for Christmas and we're ordering the spices. We already have the brown teff, and a thingamajig to cook the injera on. Mom keeps reminding them to fix her something very mild because her stomach doesn't do spicy.

They're downstairs watching TV now as the evening is winding down. Another day the Lord has truly blessed us with. Praise the name of the Lord for He is good, His blessings are new every morning and His mercy endures forever!

Cystic Fibrosis

2009-09-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Nathan, Trish and Gweneth (born just weeks before Trish had a double lung transplant).

CF doesn't get the press that MS or cancer gets. Most people don't even know what it is. They're working on that. Here are a few supporting souls. They had a list of sponsers two pages long. I thought that was great!

(Trish and Nathan speaking just before the CF Walk)

Saturday we went back to The Beach to participate in a fund raiser for Cystic Fibrosis research. A good friend of ours at our old church was born with this disease. Trish has a powerful story to tell - www.cfhusband.blogspot.com. Please visit their blog, she and her husband, Nathan (the music minister at church) have a beautiful story and a beautiful family. The Lord has done mind blowing miracles in their lives and their lives have touched millions (literally) around the word. Trish has lived (in every since of the word) with this disease and is doing all she can to help with the fund raising and awareness raising as well.

Cystic fibrosis is a disease that causes mucus in the body to become thick and sticky. This glue-like mucus builds up and causes problems in many of the body's organs, especially the lungs and the pancreas. People who have cystic fibrosis can have serious breathing problems and lung disease. They can also have problems with nutrition, digestion, growth, and development. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis and the disease generally gets worse over time.
The life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis has been steadily increasing over the past 40 years. On average, people who have cystic fibrosis live into their mid-to-late 30s, although new treatments are making it possible for some people to live into their 40s and longer.

The Lord's Prayer-- Our Prayer

2009-09-13T04:41:00.000-07:00

I cannot pray "OUR,"
if my faith has no room for others and their nee
I cannot pray "FATHER,"
if I do not demonstrate this relationship to God in my daily living.
I cannot pray, "WHO ART IN HEAVEN,
"if all of my interests and pursuits are in earthly things.
I cannot pray, "HALLOWED BE THY NAME,"
if I am not striving for God's help to be holy.
I cannot pray, "THY KINGDOM COME,"
if I am unwilling to accept God's rule in my life.
I cannot pray, "THY WILL BE DONE,"
if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my life.
I cannot pray, "IN EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN,"
unless I am truly ready to give myself to God's service here and now.
I cannot pray, "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD,"
without expending honest effort for it or if I would withhold from my neighbor the bread I receive.
I cannot pray, "FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US,"
if I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot pray, "LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION,"
if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted.
I cannot pray, "DELIVER US FROM EVIL,"
if I am not prepared to fight with my life and my prayer.
I cannot pray, "THINE IS THE KINGDOM,"
if I am unwilling to obey the King.
I cannot pray, "THINE IS THE POWER AND THE GLORY,"
if I am seeking power for myself and my own glory first.
I cannot pray, "FOREVER AND EVER,"
if I am too anxious about each day's affairs.
I cannot pray, "AMEN,"
unless I honestly say "Not my will, but THY will be done," so let it be.

All my babies go to school.

2009-09-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it was the first week of school. It was a relatively successful week. The youngest (Z) threw up at school on Thursday and had to spend Thursday and Friday at home. There goes her perfect attendance award, in the first week! They have all been assigned ESL teachers, except (D) since he tested in the highest level. (J) just took his test, so we'll see how that goes, and we figure he'll test past it as well. The others will have various levels of help from just helping with writing to EVERYTHING.

We live in an area with a lot of military families, so there are a lot of new kids in the schools, and that helps ours not feel so out of place. The one thing that stands out for them is the diversity in racial makeup. Ever since our first four have come here, they've been not just a minority in school, they were the only minority (Black or Chinese) in most all of their classes. Now they're in an environment of being part of the majority (except for the high school). Believe it or not, they now feel weird about that, they'll get used to it. Unfortunately (D) will always be in the micro-minority of being the only Chinese kid in school. Maybe by high school things will be different. Right now, he's making friends and that's great.

They're all bringing home smiles and happy stories of the day at family time. It feels good.

One week down and who know how many more to go.