River of Thoughts

He is risen indeed! Greetings to all of you on this special day of renewal and rebirth! This past week has been one of great sadness and great joy, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our family and friends that have reached out with your kind thoughts and comforting prayers during this difficult week. Each day, I’m reminded of the amazing people that we have been blessed to have in our lives, and we thank God for each and every one of you. We love you all, and we thank you from the depths […]

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My mother left this world on Sunday evening, 1 April, after a 2 ½ year battle with lung cancer. She died peacefully at Visiting Nurse and Hospice Home surrounded by our family. While I miss her terribly, I could not have chosen a better way for her to pass. The people at VNHH were the best…kind, caring, and dedicated to keeping Mom comfortable and caring for all of us during her stay. We held a family calling on Tuesday, 3 April, to say goodbye to Mom. Joined on this day with the sadness of this final goodbye was the sweet […]

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Even though Masha was not able to come to the US for the last two weeks of March, we appreciated the opportunity to host the director of her orphanage and one of the orphanage workers on Tuesday, 27 March. Mark was a tremendous blessing and a help to me in shopping, cleaning, and preparing for their visit to our home, as I was spending almost all of my free time helping tend to my mother. At about 11:30, we picked Ludmila and Kseniya up at the home where they were staying, and brought them to our house for lunch. Kseniya […]

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Right after I posted the last update, I got an email with a letter from Masha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She misses us and she just started a new dance class. She sees her friend Khrystyna often, and she is waiting for us “with great impatience”!!!!! I miss her soooooo much!!!!!!!!

When God closes a door, He opens a window…..At least that’s what Mark and I keep trying to remember this week. Masha was scheduled to arrive in Denver last Saturday night, and then fly home to us for a two week visit on Sunday. Unfortunately, due to some communication challenges, Masha and two other children were left off the visa list and were unable to travel. We have learned that the kids knew much earlier than we did, and that they were told that their parents would be coming to Ukraine soon to bring them home…So the rug wasn’t pulled […]

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