Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

Jaedyn

Hey Whiteford family -- I just posted some photos of Jaedyn on my photo blog if you want to click over and see them! I think you'll agree she's a bona fide cutie!

Jane and Ryan

I told you in my last post that I have oodles of photos to share. This one dates back a couple of weeks...

I'm sharing it here because these guys made our day when they dropped in for a surprise visit a few weeks back. I may have said this before, but one of the greatest parts of living at the student center is that eventually, almost every Asburian comes back to Wilmore and you never know who's going to drop in, especially during Alumni Reunion weekend. While Ryan is an Asbury grad, we actually met his wife, Jane (when she was his fiance`), at church. We got to know Jane during a reallly memorable semester doing the Alpha program and fell in love with her. Shortly thereafter, we video-ed their wedding and said goodbye when they moved to the Peach State for more schooling. Thanks to the world wide web we've been able to stay in touch.

Jane and Ryan -- thanks for making time to see us! It was great to catch up!

What has four wheels...?

We are back from Illinois and I have oodles of photos to share... here's a few of Ellie with Gjyshe (Joosh). Whenever he'd come back from checking the sprinklers, she'd run to the door and want to jump on for a few trips around the yard. He was usually happy to oblige. In case you're wondering, we never had a fun toy like this when I lived at home.

I don't know where she learned this, but she started waving like Miss America whenever they'd pass by me. She would repeat this whenever we drove by Mom and Dad's house in the car too.

What Adoption Means...

About a year or so ago I became aware of a teenage girl who was wanting to be adopted. At the time, she was just a photograph, but she had a truly sweet-looking face. From her name, I knew she was Albanian, even though her country wasn't listed next to her posting on Bethany's Children of Promise. Last winter my bloggy friend, Melissa, visited Albania and met her. She reported that her personality was as sweet and genuine as her photograph implied.

Around the same time, I met via the internet a woman, Christa, who with her husband had stepped forward and wanted to adopt this waiting girl. They faced great odds, though. The biggest being this teenager's looming 16th birthday in July. If my new friend Christa and her husband could not complete their homestudy AND get immigration approval in time, this girl would turn 16 and forever remain an orphan. She would be turned out onto the streets without a home, without a family or social network, without a job, without food stamps, welfare, job-training program, you name it. The statistics are quite grim (have you seen the movie "Taken"?).

One by one, each deadline was met. Christa and her husband traveled to Albania, met their daughter-to-be and fell in love. Unfortunately, they had a few 'hiccups' in court. Pray-ers were rallied. Two more court appearances and everything became official...one day before her 16th birthday.

I'm borrowing this list from the Bethany rep in Albania who e-mailed us the good news this morning. From now on, this girl will have:

• a place to call home
• parents
• a brother
• people to help her negotiate her way
• people who can introduce her to Jesus
• someone to celebrate holidays with
• a place to go when hard times come
• a place to go back to
• someone to walk her down the aisle
• people to love
• a place she can walk in and just open the refrigerator without asking
• her own room
• her own clothes
• things that won't be stolen when she looks the other way
• a photoalbum with her pictures in it
• an address
• a family vacation
• her picture on the wall
• someone to celebrate her accomplishments with
• a mom to care for her when she's sick
• people to cheer her on
• a father's protection
• a mother's love
• someone to celebrate mother's and father's day with
• people who will make her birthdays special
• a living example of the love of Christ that calls us into His family......

Somebody Huffed, Somebody Puffed, but still the House stands...

I (Cydil) forgot how loud pigs can squeal! Even the little ones!

This little pig that Nathan's holding won't go to market. In fact, with his pedigree he's destined for trophies, ribbons, and many awards. His first bid of good fortune was for Ellie and her entourage to come and visit him in the piggy parlor. Even Grandma got in on the action as well as Dad doing piggy CPR. Ellie's touch on Illinois farms brought her into contact with one of the staples for an ag industry. Little pigs that turn into big pigs that eat a lot of corn and eventually end up up on your breakfast table. -- conributed by Gjyshe vanOrman

Red, White and BOOM!

Ellie came into direct contact with one of her first bits of Americana. Down the road in a small farming community that has for years celebrated our nation's independence by having fireworks in the cornfields. It's cheap thrills for the farmers who get to come for miles around and sit on old lawn chairs and marvel at the spectacle. Ellie sat with the best of them and did her share of marveling on her mom's lap. Holding her ears and widening her eyes you could tell she was taking it all in. Her cute little phrases like, "More fire please!" or "It went boom boom! I closed the ears!" were typical of her big night. God has blessed America and our freedom and independence all the way even to cornfields in Illinois.

-- guest contributor, Gjyshe vanOrman.

Amber Waves of Grain

ewww... Gross!

too close...

Explaining to Ellie that this is where I grew up...