Christmas Eve at Mom's

I guess Mom and I are just sentimental but neither one of us could quite stand the idea of absolutely no "Christmas Eve" celebration at their house. So on Tuesday, Dec 22 Kevin, I and the kids went over to their home. I thought the table looked so beautiful. I brought the Christmas layer jello--that is a tradition.

We held hands and sang the Doxology. We used to do this only on special family occasions--like Christmas--but several of our kids are starting to request that 'we sing it' rather than a spoken prayer much more often when we eat with my parents.

James and Papa--passing the time until presents.

Caleb

S and Caleb (and his new Cars sheets)

Here's Steven sitting on Daddy's lap starting to tear into his own set of sheets

J got the Star Wars comforter. It was funny because I had already purchased the comforters when I just 'happened' to take the kids through that section at Wal-Mart and was so rewarded to see several of them drooling over the styles I'd already purchased. The comforters and sheets were gifts from Grandma and Papa and Papa (Kevin's Dad) but I got to do the actual shopping.

T showing off her High School Musical selection (the girls already have the matching curtains and sheets so tonight they got flannel ones)

S with cozy flannel sheets

B was tickled to receive a Harley Davidson comforter. Since he sleeps on a couch, we got him matching curtains rather than sheets. He has taken up residence in our converted 'junque' room--lovingly referred to as 'the back room'

I got two bowl sets--one set of mixing bowls and the other set is storage bowls with lids. In the background is Mom and Dad's singing clock--at this time of year it is set to play a Christmas carol on the hour.

We chose a Snuggie for Mom and some puzzle books

I love this picture because it shows pure happiness on Steven's face.

Here's Caleb and his Speedy Racer comforter

Steven tearing into his own Speedy Racer

Here's S's matching comforter

Kevin had chosen to buy jeans and a jar of peanuts for himself with his Christmas money from Mom and Dad

Mom's Snuggie. It even came with a cool reading light.

That night we went home and took all the bed covers off the kids' beds and put on the new sheets and comforters. Here's J amidst his Star Wars glory

And here are the little boys and Daddy getting ready at last for night-night

Loon Hing

For a long time now Christmas Eve has been celebrated at my parents' house--with my brother and his family and me and my family in attendance. We eat together and then exchange gifts with everyone possible. Over the years this has been changed to a few days ahead of Christmas Eve proper; this year it changed even more because my brother suggested we meet at the Loon Hing and draw names for one $5 gift exchange. So here we are on Monday evening, Dec 21.

James showing his gift (sorry, I can't remember the name of this green character.)

T really liked her new beauty set.

S and her new bangles.

B got Christmas lights and a flashlight--loved them!

Kevin got a heavy-duty cutter tool for work.

Mom got holiday sparkly bowls.

Dad got books. Steven really liked his set of cars and James enjoyed his construction truck (so did Billy) I got a beautiful blown-glass cross which we hung on our Christmas tree.

Family Christmas Letter

December 18, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

As I (Joy) look at the rapidly-advancing calendar, I realize that composing a Christmas letter is 'now or never.' It has been such an eventful year and God has been so amazing that I must get it in writing.

As you may recall, Kevin and I spent Christmas 2008 in Kiev, Ukraine working on the adoption of Steven, who has Down syndrome like our son Caleb. (Thanks to all who helped "make the season bright" for our kiddos at home.) (1) Because of the holidays and (2) because we were the first to adopt from his particular orphanage and (3) because it was the first international adoption from the corresponding district's court, we were unable to get an adoption court date set prior to our departure on Dec. 31. We did have the amazing opportunity, however, to meet with a very courageous group of parents there in Kiev who have chosen to lovingly raise their little ones with DS rather than abandon them at birth as is the 'norm' in that culture.

Spring Break in March found Kevin and me, B, S, T and J joining others from Idaho for a MAPS trip to Mexico. This was our kids' first time out of the country. Caleb stayed in the US with a couple from our church. In Mexico Kevin got to help lay bunches of tile in a church auditorium, play guitar with the Hagerman Assembly praise band, and preach with Pastor Tellez from Hagerman interpreting. The kids and I painted the church fellowship hall; after that our main job was to be willing to do whatever needed to be done--sweeping, carrying tile, helping mix the grout, etc. S sang at two different church services and I got to speak briefly to a group of students at a church-school. Overall, I was very proud of our children's very helpful attitudes and their lack of complaining.

I will be forever thankful that on May 24 and 25 we drove to the Boise area to visit Kevin's Grandma Dorothy B in the hospital. She has always been so spry and alert, so interested in her grand-children and great grandchildren and so fun to be around. She had fallen a couple months earlier and broken her arm but I had assumed she was recovering well. Instead she was dealing with complications from her injury. (It was my last time to see her. She passed away a month later while I was in Ukraine at the age of 91.) Also while in Boise we got to see Kevin's sisters P and J and their families.

When we got home on May 25 we found out that we were scheduled for court on June 1 in Kiev---so on May 30 Kevin, T and I were flying out of Boise. I will leave to your imagination the craziness of preparing for international travel in 5 days besides shopping for and hosting a birthday party for B, J and Caleb (all June babies) on May 28. J rode with us as far as the Boise airport and spent nearly two weeks with his birth sister in her wonderful adoptive home.

Just prior to flying we'd found out that our court date had been re-scheduled for June 3 but--praise God!!-- we decided to fly as planned. Due to plane problems we ended up not even arriving in Kiev until later June 1. On June 5 we officially became parents of Steven Mikhyal McClain. Kevin flew home on June 11. T was such a trooper there with me in Ukraine as we waited for all the legal paperwork to be completed (and S was a trooper at home because Kevin became dreadfully sick with a strep infection and gout.) T and I had the great privilege of meeting 6 other Reece's Rainbow couples while in Kiev. Between us, 10 children with Down syndrome were rescued from life--and death--in a Ukrainian mental institution. We ran into many, many roadblocks in our adoption process but we KNEW what God had called us to do. Finally on July 3 Steven became a US citizen as we returned to American soil.

On May 30 my brother M and his wife K celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at Shoshone Assembly of God. (I was SO sorry to miss it.) On July 25th Mom and Dad (W and J) celebrated their 50th at Hansen Assembly of God. It was a wonderful day. Kevin and I are still the newlyweds--15 years for us. Mom, Dad, M, K, Kevin and I went on a lovely Snake River dinner cruise in honor of all of our anniversaries on August 28.

My cousin Dan (Aunt Berta's son) attended my parents' anniversary celebration but honestly looked horrible. He went in and got blood transfusions and I wrongly assumed they solved the problem. On August 11 we heard that he might be admitted to the hospital yet that night, on Aug 12 he was unresponsive and on August 13 his spirit moved to Jesus' house. Dan was only 51 but many of you might recall that he'd had a kidney transplant several years ago; apparently he hadn't been feeling well for quite some time. I am happy for Dan but sad for me. I miss his joking and his musical talent. I will also miss celebrating our birthdays together--same date, different year. (I am MUCH, MUCH younger! Grin.)

August 31 was the 1st day of school for our big kids. B is 15 and in the 9th grade. He enjoyed dissecting in science, going on his class trip to Yellowstone Park in September and putting up Christmas lights in his classroom.. S is 13 and in the 8th grade. Her favorite classes are agriculture and keyboarding. She says she likes her family, her friends coming over, and going to church. T is 13 and in the 7th grade. Her favorite class is experimental science; she enjoys reading and dogs. J is 11 and in the 6th grade. He is totally obsessed with Star Wars--the books, the Lego building sets, the figures and particularly the weapons. His favorite school subject is History. Caleb and Steven's preschool started Sept 9. Both of them are 5 and they attend class M-F afternoons. My Mom just recently described these two as "God's gift to our family." They are truly precious but they do keep me hopping trying to keep up with their mess-making skills. It is fun to observe their speech, language, physical, play, and self-help skills developing.

God has given me a huge passion for orphans. I had the privilege of volunteering with Christian Alliance for Orphans to promote Orphan Sunday on Nov. 8. In conjunction with that I facilitated an orphan/adoption awareness workshop at our church on Sat, Nov. 7 with the help of our social worker, Dixie Tate from A New Beginning Adoption Agency. Did you know there are an estimated 143,000,000 orphans in the world? Did you know it would take over 4 1/2 YEARS just to speak the name of each of these precious children at the rate of one per second? These statistics tear at my heart.

On Nov 27 Kevin and I took off for Jamaica. 21 years ago I was invited to spend a year with Erick and Joyce Kaiser then-missionaries to Jamaica as Bro. Kaiser's secretary. This year New Life Assembly in Kingston--which Bro. Kaiser founded-- was celebrating 25 years. We were invited to join in their thanksgiving for the amazing things God has done. We spent 9-10 hours in church on November 29 and it was "WOW!" I haven't cried that much in a long time. The church has just exploded in size and ministry under the continued Spirit-led ministry of Pastor Robb (who was also the pastor 21 years ago) and that day dedicated a new wing and broke ground for a day care. Kaisers were there as well and it was wonderful to spend time with them again along with their pastors and their grandson/wife. Kevin and I also had three very fun and relaxing days in Ocho Rios. By the way, the money exchange rate there is $1 US = $85 J!! I love math but dividing by 85 is not my strong suite. Kevin was extremely brave and drove our rental car from the airport to Kingston, on to Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, back to Kingston and returned it in one piece. Remember, they drive on the left so this is a challenge (as is converting kilometers to miles, liters to gallons, etc.) It's a good thing he drives professionally for UPS Freight.

We got home from Jamaica in the wee hours of Saturday, Dec 5. We immediately plunged from balmy, tropical weather into snow, ice and the Christmas season. That morning I had a mandatory choir rehearsal and that afternoon we got out our Christmas decorations and began adorning the house. Dec. 6 was the annual Community Christmas Concert "One Quiet Night" with participants from 4 area churches. I had fun singing alto beside my mom. Dec. 7 was S's Christmas band concert--she is playing clarinet again. Dec. 13 was our kids' Christmas program at church--the girls were angels and the boys were all shepherds. Dec. 15 was the Elementary Christmas Program--Caleb and Steven's class performed 3 songs and J made his debut on the trumpet playing "Jingle Bells." The kids all ended up getting out of school about 11:30 am on Thursday the 17th because a truck ran into a power pole and plunged our town into darkness. Friday, of course, was their last day before Christmas break. Our church's Adult Christmas Candlelight Dinner/Choir is scheduled for Dec. 20. Dec. 21 my parents, M's family, and our family are meeting at the Loon Hing, a Chinese restaurant in Twin Falls. Dec. 22 our family is planning an evening at Mom and Dad's house here in H. And on Christmas Day the extended family is to be at our house for dinner at 2:00 pm.

Well, as you can see 2009 has been an unusually full year for us. God has blessed us beyond anything we can ever deserve. But the greatest GIFT He ever gave was His one and only Son Jesus whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. The Bible says simply: "He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son does not have life." May we choose LIFE.

We love you all,
Kevin, Joy, B, S, T, J, Steven and Caleb
www.livingwithouradoptionoption.blogspot.com

Christmas Sunday

Here are my parents in our church foyer on Sunday, Dec 20

Here we are in our Christmas shirts: T, me, B, S, Kevin, J with Caleb and Steven in front.

And another short of my parents

On Sunday evening we had the adult Christmas banquet in our newly decorated fellowship hall. I think we had 98 in attendance. Kevin and I were host/hostesses of our table of 8: we took our china for the table, filled glasses for our guests, went and got their plates of food and had a good time chatting. The menu was oriental with salad, 2 egg rolls, fried rice, shrimp, broccoli, and lovely chocolates for dessert. Then we all went in the sanctuary where the choir sang (including Kevin, S, and myself); my Mom, Dad and I did a group of songs; and several other numbers. It was a very nice evening. Last year we missed it because we were in Ukraine.

Elementary Christmas Program

Our 3 youngest all participated in the elementary Christmas program in the high school gym on Tuesday evening, Dec 15. Teresa was in charge of their hair-dos and was very impressed with her results. Here's Caleb:
Here are Steven and Caleb. I didn't get a picture of their preschool class performing their 3 songs though I did take some very short videos

Here J joins the two little boys.

J took up the trumpet this year. Below is the 6th grade band who played Jingle Bells. This is their teacher Leah Pentland's first year at our school.

Children's Church Christmas Program

Our Children's Christmas program was Sunday morning, Dec 13. Here are most of our kiddos: T and S as angels, Steven, Caleb and J as shepherds.

Below are T and S with more of the heavenly host.

Here's B--the AWOL shepherd from the above family picture.

Here are Caleb and Steven on stage watching the other shepherds

The shepherds out watching their flocks by night.

The angels singing glory to God

After awhile Caleb and Steven got more interested in the electrical cords on the stage.

Caleb kept getting closer to the manger

He was especially interested in the fluffy white stuff around the manger. I thought he might end up on top of baby Jesus.

Jamaica pictures

Here's Kevin in our Hertz rental car at the Kingston airport. Notice that the steering wheel in on the right.

I got a big kick out of this first money exchange. For $100 US we got $8,500 Jamaican dollars!!!

Here's the 25th anniversary Thanksgiving service at New Life Assembly of God in Kingston on Nov 29. Pastor Robb in front enjoying the beautiful praise and worship music by the choir (all the choir members dressed in white for the special occasion.)

View from our balcony at the Knutsford Court in Kingston.

Yours truly on our balcony.

On our way to Ocho Rios we all stopped at a roadside fruit stand and Kaisers encouraged us to try the coconut water. The vendor chopped off just enough of the top with his machete to insert a straw.

The Silver Seas hotel in Ocho Rios--we were told it is the oldest hotel in the town. We loved it--quiet, kind of old-fashioned and right on the water.

Here's the view of the Caribbean from our balcony

The view from the veranda where we ate several of our meals.

Here's the boat (a catamaran) that our group rented for 4 hours. The 3 guys on board were great. We went sailing, snorkeling, swimming and got a little tour of the coast. Our group consisted of Erick and Joyce Kaiser (the founders of the New Life church and invited back for the occasion), their pastors from Idaho, Bruce and Stacy Murphy, their grandson and his wife, and Kevin and I. We had so much fun.

Here are Joyce and Erick Kaiser and Kevin

Here's Kevin with the breakfast that we tried a couple times: we'd get one order of French toast and sausage or bacon and another order of local fruit (bananas, oranges, papaya) and then split them so we each got some of both.

HMMMMM?? Who could this be?

Here are our kiddos in their Jamaica shirts: B (with eagle necklace), J (with Chicago Cubs cap), T and S (with their necklaces made by the Teen Challenge men) in back with Caleb and Steven in front (each with their bathtub puppet that we picked up in the airport on the way home.)