Meet Yuri

Well our grand total for Sonya's surgery was $1002, my good friends from New Zealand (NOT Australia -they used to live in Australia but moved home) tried to mail a check but it got returned and had been opened and tampered with so they'll give online.  I was waiting to close this out for that.  So our grand total giving through the church/blog was $1002!  Then I know of at least $200 that went directly to their site also:)  Thank you all for being a part of this.  You can still give on line at   http://www.gofundme.com/78kap0   and if anything else comes in through mail, I will make sure they get it:)   I was able to send it after several false starts!  Me and paypal have issues......  It came to 704 Euros:)   Thanks friends for being part of this!!!!  I just looked and they are close to their halfway mark!!!!!!!!  Pray that they will reach it and if you want to you can still give on line!!!!!!  Please feel free to:)  I'd love to see them hit the halfway mark soon!

For the month of May we will be fundraising for little Yuri  This is his FB page.  Saving Baby Yuri,  A Journey of Hope    https://www.facebook.com/SavingBabyYuri  You can go like it and keep up with things on there. 
His story is here....  https://www.crowdrise.com/SavingBabyYuri/fundraiser/christiezink
Again you can give directly  or it can be sent through the church.  I give the church as an option as I have a few people who do give monthly to whatever situation I'm raising money for.  So I know I'll always have something to send directly and some folks rather write checks than send on line.  This family is RUSHING to get this little guy home,  Yuri has Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare genetic connective tissue disorder that causes skin to blister and slough off at the slightest touch, leaving painful wounds that must be covered and cared for to avoid infection and further damage to the skin.
I've read about this and it is a hard disease, many children die young from this.  Please pray that this sweet family can reach him in time and that he will have every opportunity to get better.  Their case is being fast tracked because of his great need! 


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We are experiencing quite the rain event.  Since this morning, my rain gauge says we've gotten 2 inches and we still have 24 hours to go of rain.   I LOVE rain- I hate that this system has caused so much havoc throughout the US but now it's just a lot of rain.  Sometimes I worry that there won't be rain in heaven, I love rainy days, love the smell of rain, love misty showers to heavy thunderstorms.  Florida has a lot of rain and where we live seems to get even more than the rest of the state and that is fine with me.  Every so often we get this nice misty rain, reminds me of the mist that comes off Niagara Falls.  I just love it, we had it the other day and to watch it, just refreshes my soul!

The boys are off to see the Amazing Spiderman 2!  It was filmed in Rochester NY while we were there in 2012.  They were so excited about going because they like Spiderman AND because it was filmed in Rochester!  Shad came in to tell me goodbye twice, the second time I told him to take my debit card and he told me "Mom I already got it the FIRST time I came in"  that little sneak:)  Got to love them!  Since Steve has started driving more, Shad sure has gotten a real social life going on:)


http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/fighting-resumes-in-slovyansk-ukrainian-pilot-killed-live-updates-345925.html  Our hearts are often on the situation in Ukraine.  Two years ago we were in all those places you hear of on the news...  Donetsk and the Donetsk region is where the girls were from and where we spent so many weeks.  Donetsk is the city Sarah was born and abandoned in....Selah was from the next town over....places we've been.  Even government buildings we went into, now are controlled by Russian forces.  (I believe Russian forces not just pro Russian Ukrainians)  It surreal to us to watch the news and recognize places....  We just pray for the people of Ukraine, the many dear friends we met there, believers.....we pray for the orphans, it is so hard to think of all that must be happening now.  Things were not easy there before war.....can't imagine how things are now!  Please pray for peace and freedom for the people of Ukraine!

Monday will be two years since the girls' "gotcha day" the day we took them out of the orphanage/mental institution  If we were there now, I doubt it would be happening!  Not only do you have the whole court and adoption proceedings but the day before you get the child out, you have to run around and get all the paperwork done for their new  We also had to pick up their passports etc...  Basically you go from office to office, town to town dealing with everything.  It would be impossible to do at this juncture in that area. 

The funny thing is we were told then that civil war was coming to Ukraine.   There is a big difference from Kiev to Donetsk....major differences that we could tell.  One BIG thing was the statues of Lenin, in Kiev, there was one....even in the small town of Torez, where the mental institution was, there were many statues of Lenin....from the town square to out in the woods....literally.....and since we were there on May Day, we saw many flower tributes to him places at his statues.   We love Ukraine, there was such a feeling of being "home" for us there, I can't explain it......

http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/selah-clanton-zephyrhills-fl/
answer today is STEERING CONTROLS
just a few more days left for voting!!!!!

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

Weeki Wachie kayaking

We had a blast today kayaking down the Weeki Wachie with some friends.  It's a clear spring that is long and runs into the Gulf of Mexico. The part we kayaked was 5.5 miles long and after about mile 3, I was pretty sure I was going to die on the river.....LOL  Already my arms can hardly go over chest area....can't wait to see how stiff I am in the morning!  When we got to the end, there is a place to pull in and the guys from the kayak place will help you (even if you didn't rent from them)  I had to ask them to PULL me out of the kayak, there was no way my body would cooperate at that point.  What can you do but laugh???  I'm just thankful I made it all the way!

We saw Manatees!   A big one went right beside and a bit under my kayak, and a mother and baby went over to the side.  I loved seeing them.  We also saw some big turtles, all kinds of birds, some fish.  It was beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can NOT believe I'm posting this picture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love living in Florida, I love the woods and animals.  I'm so glad to be able to be out in nature.  I have a new underwater camera.  This was the first time I've really used it.  The current was moving so fast, it was hard to get some pictures.  

 

We all have kayaks, or will have, I just ordered me one for my Mother's Day present.  It's a lot of fun, this is the longest I've kayaked ever and although it was hard, it was fun. 

 

 

We are also going to go to Weeki Wachie, the tourist attraction with the mermaids.  We keep season passes for the Florida State Parks and our goal is to go to all of them at least once. 

Thanks for all the kind words expressed in messages and comments to me regarding Sam's diagnosis.  We're going to start him on the medicine tomorrow. (didn't want to today with a friend staying with them for me)   Then I'm going to really research Autism in kids like Sam with other special needs.  Maybe this will help us find a key for him to be more expressive. 

Sam has Autism

http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/selah-clanton-zephyrhills-fl/  answer today is ROLL UP RAMP  the voting goes until may 11th.    Thanks for voting!

don't forget about Sonya's surgery!!!!!!   You can give directly & read about their family!!!!!   http://www.gofundme.com/78kap0
or send a check to Grace Church 7060 Berry Road, Zephyrhills, Florida 33540



Well we got some news today.....
 Sam got diagnosed as Autistic...can't say I'm shocked but I am some.... We had taken him for an evaluation when he was about 4 and was told he was "just" visionally impaired and mentally retarded. But this new neuro was with us for like 5 minutes and said "he's been diagnosed autistic right?" When I told him no he was shocked. He said Sam's repetitive movement and self injuring (...he bites both of his pointer fingers till they are calloused) are huge signs   Sam also wants things a certain way at a certain time ( me too!) So he gave us a script for Prozac- a light dose, he thinks that will help Sam. We are a bit concerned about giving it to him because of side affects, one being his liver. Sam is missing a tumor inhibitor in his liver so we are so careful when it comes to certain things But we'd love for some of his tension to be relieved......

The doctor was pleased at how emotionally bonded Sam is and how he behaves when told to sit down and quit pulling things down.   He said to keep working with him so he doesn't become violent towards us, help him continue to learn boundaries.  With Sam it's more about how he stresses about things.   If things aren't perfect and in order he gets upset.  He has such a need for order (as I do also!) 

So I've read about Prozac and I'm ok with him taking it.  If there are issues, we'd stop.  I like this doctor and feel safe with him.  I asked him what he'd do if it were his child and he said he'd use Prozac to help him. 

This has just drained me for some reason, it's not like I'm crying, it's something we've suspected for a long time but I feel wasted tonight. 

Sam is so dear to me, to Jon....he was a gift from God for our marriage's renewal.  We've given everything to help him over the past 10 years, traveled thousands of miles, taken him to the best doctors....slept in hospital rooms for him....  I gave up my career (and retirement LOL) for him.....and I'd do it all again for him in a heartbeat. He's worth more than anything to us.  Sometimes reality and confirmation of things we've thought is hard.  Sam is the same kid he was last night when I was rubbing his back while watching tv.  Nothing has changed but now we know that there are some things he won't grow out of....somethings that we may have to face in the future that might be a bit different than we thought ....  sometimes as a parent of a very special needs child (children) you just have to take a breath, put it all back in God's hands and then go on....  I'm at the breathing stage right now......


Thanks for your prayers and concern.  I really love connecting with you all, even if we don't agree 100%  I have the nicest readers:)

God's Not Dead!

In today's church's offering another $140 came in for Sonya's surgery so the grand total we've raised is $1002!!!!!!  I'm so happy!  I know another check is coming from a dear online friend in Australia....  We still have a few more days you can give on line   http://www.gofundme.com/78kap0
or send a check to Grace Church 7060 Berry Road, Zephyrhills, Florida 33540!  I wonder what the final tally will be???  I'd be thrilled if we could make it to $1500!  


The voting hit 10,000 votes for Selah's van!  Our dear Sunday School teacher and his wife hit the 10,000 mark for us!  http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/selah-clanton-zephyrhills-fl/
Please keep voting, you can vote daily, from anywhere in the world.  Each day there is a chance to win an extra vote by answering a question.  The answer for today is BOTH A & B



Last night we went and saw the movie "God's Not Dead"  it was great1  Usually I don't care for "Christian" movies (just being honest) so I went just to have something to do with the family.  It didn't take long for me to see this movie was different. I LOVED it!  I'd encourage you go see it if you haven't already!  Both Steve and Shad were affected by the movie.  Shad stood outside with me last night in the garden as we watched the fireflies and talked to me about it.  One of the main characters is a young Chinese man who makes a stand for Christ.  It really touched his heart.  I know it really touched him and helped him because he had a chance today to not tell the truth about something, and he told the truth knowing he might get in trouble.  I believe that movie inspired him to live more closer to God! 

One of the most amazing things happened towards the end of the movie, a Christian group, the Newsboys, were singing "God's not dead" and Sarah began clapping her hands above her head.  she was sitting on Jon's lap and she clapped and clapped.  It seemed so holy, a spiritual thing.  Sarah is blind, very mentally delayed with an IQ in the 30's but she responded in a way we've never seen her do.  She did it appropriately as if she were responding directly to the message.   We just watched her in amazement.  We've seen her clap a few times in church, and it's always been in just the right spots, maybe towards the end of a song but we've never "trained" her to do something like that.  last night she just keep clapping vigorously with no prompting or encouragement from us.  In fact I was so moved, I was fighting to hold in the tears. It was like this little girl, understood the mystery of God.  It was a moment I will treasure in my heart. 

Tonight on 60 Minutes I watched a segment  shown here http://www.cbsnews.com/news/saving-the-children-during-world-war-11-60-minutes/    about a man Nicholas Winton who saved over 600 children.  It is such a touching story.  I had tears streaming down my face about the story, the gumption of this young 29 year man and the love of the children's parents.  Winton is now credited with saving over 15,000 IF you include the original children he saved, their children, their grandchildren and now even their great grandchildren who would have never been born without the original children being saved from death!   Now this 104 year old man is opening homes for the mentally challenged  and elderly in England!  I want to be like him!  What an inspiration, God bless him!!!!

Hope you have a great week ahead!  We have some fun things planned for this week that I'm looking forward to doing.  

God in the Good AND Bad times

So I'm at the library, obviously they have much better Wi-Fi than we have satellite and I hoped it would enable me to be able to load all our pictures and clean up my blog some:)  It did!  WOOHOO!

So now let me blog about somthings that have been on my mind......


As you can imagine I get a lot of blogs and Facebook pages sent my way.  So many people caught in life altering situations.  Some have cancer, a disability, disease, accidents etc....they all are sad.  I feel bad for anyone who is facing anything like that or who has a love one who is.

But I see things, I can't help but see things.  There are people who have no regard for God at all until they face a tragedy.  Then they are crying out to Him for help.  They may not change their lifestyle or ask him to be the Savior of their life, but they want help from Him right then!  God can use circumstances in a person's life to remind them of their need for Him (I'm NOT saying God puts things on people but life happens......)  

We get calls all the time, the church line rings in our home.  It's always someone asking if we (the church) pays for electric bills, water bills etc....  I always tell people that we do help out members of our congregation and that they should ask their church for help.  Some say that they don't go to church, some get angry....  NONE have every said they've asked their church and been told no.  Why?  Because there are people who want things from God ( or God's people) but they don't want to have to give anything, they don't want to give their lives to God, they don't' want to participate within a body of believers,  they want to take but not to give anything.

Ok by now you've decided I'm a hard hearted women, I've been called worse.....   You are wondering about my Christianity.

The bible teaches us throughout the Old and New Testament to take care of the poor and needy, the REAL poor and needy.  It also tells us if a man won't work, he should not eat.  It talks against laziness all throughout scripture.  Yes, anyone could have a tragedy and need help, I'm all for raising money for a situation like that.  I LOVE to give towards good and worthy things. 

It seems so much like people want to seek God's hand, what He will give them rather than to seek His face. 

I don't want to be like that.  I want to follow God no matter what comes my way.  I want to serve Him in the GOOD times, then I know He'll be there in the Bad times.  I'm not perfect for anyone who thinks I think that!  But I knew who God was BEFORE tragedies  hit my life, it makes life much easier!  I'm not saying God won't hear someone during their hard times if they aren't serving God before that time, but it is so much easier to walk through life, with God. 

Let me encourage you to draw close to God today, don't put it off until a tragedy strikes or a need arises. 

Spring pictures and Steve's graduation pictures

 

 

My friend Kandi who owns Twisted Oak Photography

813-368-4853

did this photography shot for us.  She is amazing and really got the pictures that express our family.  Here is a few of the over 1000 we took yesterday:)  As you can imagine I 100% recommend her for family/graduation/parties/Christmas/baby (and anything else you can think of) photography shots!  she has great rates and great ideas to help you personalize your event.

 

 

 

 

 

Ok this picture just almost brings me to tears....I LOVE my Sarah so much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon and me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selah did so good, sweet girl!

 

 

 

 

My men

 

 

 

Shad on his tire swing

 

 

 

 

 

My girls!

 

 

 

my monkey:)

 

 

 

Sam!

 

 

Our Brownie

 

 

Brownie with my other baby (the garden) in the background)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of the above pictures were taken at home to make it easier on Selah.

Then we went to the Town Train Depot Museum for some pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

this is my favorite one of Steve!  Love this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then on to Hillsborough River State Park, one of our family's favorite places in the world!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't worry we checked out the stump GOOD to make sure there were no critters in it! 

When we first got to the park, we were walking down the trail to the river and a snake went under our feet.  I usually do NOT wear sandals to the woods, but had them on, let's just say, everyone was more afraid of getting trampled by me than getting bit by the snake!  LOL!  Once we got a good look at it, we saw it was just a garden snake but when someone yells "SNAKE" and you have flip flops on, it's best to get your feet off the ground LOL!!!!

 

So this is just a few of the ones she took, I'm sure I'll be posting more:)  Hope you enjoy them, we just love them, they are precious!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally Friday

Today we got a check in for $200, so we are at  $862!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my goal is $1000 for her operation.  Go and read about her at
http://www.gofundme.com/78kap0   you can give through the site or through our church
Grace Church
7060 Berry Road
Zephyrhills Fl
33540
mark it: Sonya's surgery!

http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/selah-clanton-zephyrhills-fl/todays' answer is rear and side entry....  we are close to 10,000....please vote and help us hit the 10,000 mark!


Today one of my best friends, Kandi who is also a photographer- spent hours of her last day of Easter break taking family and Steve's graduation pictures.  They are just amazing!  There is one of me and Sarah that almost makes me cry:)  She took over 1000 pictures and most of them are just great!!!!   I can't wait to get them and start putting them up-promise not all of them LOL

We did family pictures here at home, then she did some of Steve at the train station and at Hillsborough River State Park.  They are just amazing pictures!!!! Can you tell I'm excited?

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This morning I was reminiscing with Shad about how my Aunts & granny used to cook...my grandmother would have LOVED to have cooked for my kids-ALL of them love to eat! Even Sarah with her puréed food-she's the first one to the table LOL. I didn't want to eat when I was a kid cause i wanted to play then as a teen I was afraid of gaining weight I never appreciated their cooking. My kids do NOT have that problem!!!!! 

Yesterday I cooked a small breakfast, then a LARGE Brunch and as soon as the kitchen was cleaned up, one of my kids was asking me what was for supper....  I said why can't the kids be like pythons or gators who only eat once a week!   I swear all they think about is FOOD!  FOOD!  FOOD!

This week I spent a lot of time working on various kinds of paperwork.  UGH hate paperwork and still have so much more to do.  I really need a secretary. 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Update on Katie....she is responding!!!!!!!  Please keep praying for her!