Preschool "graduation"

Ana spent the celebration comfortably (and quietly!!) sleeping on Auntie Alicia.

They sang adorable songs as a class.

Gracie's sweet friend - Gracie was so sweet with her taking a picture, really comfortable with her and friendly. They play together all day since they are both in all day preschool. Now they'll be separated! So sad!

Gracie's amazing para - we're also losing her as we have to transition Gracie to another school to meet her needs - so SAD!!! We love Kelly!!!

Finally home... long trip!

Great-grandbabies all in a row!

Gracie actually watched a few minutes of TV and stayed interested in a program about Africa!

Ana is ready to go - babies in her backpack!

Ana loved the "sleepover" with Gracie who enjoyed it decidely less! ;-P

We finished our long trip with a canceled flight but God graciously provided flights home for us to still get home late Monday night and Gracie got to go to her last day of school and horse therapy yesterday as scheduled.

We had such an encouraging time on our trip, sharing about our heart for missions. We had the privilege of speaking to so many people about missions, God's glory and the gospel, and our specific calling to missions. We are officially raising support to go to northern Uganda now and we are so excited about that! More on that journey later!

After Philly, we headed to Louisville where the kids and I camped out in the extended stay hotel for 5 days while Josh took an excellent course on Baptist History - a course that we thought would be boring and dry but in fact helped Josh a lot with missions! He's so excited about the course. Unfortunately, it came with a semester's load of work which was not finishable by Josh is the time allotted given his slow reading and homework skills so his assignment will be turned in late. :(

We left Louisville in our rental car and drove up to IL just in time for our cousin's wedding for which my sister-in-law and I were doing ALL the music! Despite the stress of last minute preparations, a sore wrist, a sore throat, and not playing my own violin (mine was stolen from church recently), it was a lot of fun to get to play violin all day again, with Jessi, and sing several fun songs for the beautiful wedding! It was especially fun to have all the relatives together from Josh's side of the family!

After we presented in church on Sunday, I spent the next week in bed, struck by strep throat... ugh!

We then got to fly up to MN to visit our dear friends, the Ruhls. What an encouraging visit! We had the privilege of a lunch meeting with the missions' board at their church and were so encouraged by their heart for missions! And time with the Ruhls is always a blessing - there are few people that I feel SO comfortable with - they were my youth leaders in highschool and our friendship has continued for 15+ years! We had a chance to briefly talk to their church as an update on To The Nations (which is paying off my medical school loans to allow us to get overseas as soon as possible).

On one of our airport layovers, we were eating dinner in an airport restaurant and someone annonymously paid for our dinner!! They told the waiter that they were so impressed with how we handled our family!!! wow! that was a unique experience! :)

Our June journey - Stage 1 - Philadelphia

We are on a journey! In true Rattin fashion, we headed to Philly on Thursday May 28th the second that Gracie got out of school. We then spent 4 wonderful days with our dear friends the Shatneys during which time we got to meet many of their friends and share our heart for ministry with them as prepare for the mission field. We will be ready to head the mission field as early as a year from now so we have a big task ahead of us to raise all of our support for living expenses, all ministry expenses, and set-up expenses (buying a car, a house, a vehicle, etc.)!! Please pray that God will provide us with the partners that we need not only for financial support but also for ministry!

We got to go to the arboretum with the Shatneys and the kids loved being in the great outdoors, learning about trees and plants, learning not to pull the leaves off and eat them (haha!), and playing with their buddies Timmy and Tabby!

Ergo daddies - John with Tabitha and Josh with Gracie. Happy kiddos!

Shatneys and Rattins in a wigwam - looks cozy!

Ana loves the outdoors!
Let's do a little physical therapy in the gardens (with a pose for photos in the middle) - high kneeling Gracie!

Uncle Isaac's Wedding

I can't believe I haven't posted in a month! Preparations for Josh's brother's wedding in combination with working a lot so that we could go on "vacation"... Anyway - the girls weren't in the wedding but they looked charming none-the-less! Ana was "adopted" by the beautiful flower girl and Gracie looked so beautiful in red. (I was a bridesmaid!)

Playing again!

Gracie hasn't played on her own in.... months? half a year? between being on too many meds, having too many seizures, and lately just having one cold after another, she's spent a lot of time not feeling well... but of late, she's returning to normal and getting stronger every day! Now she's playing again and not constantly requiring someone to help her play! horray! Praise God!

Oh yes, and Ana is ALL about dirt and being "ou-side!"

spring update

Ana took "go stand with Gracie" literally and decided to sit on Gracie's lap for a photo.  ... Kisses for G'acie!

Matching clothes are fun (for Mama) for now! The photo taking is a little less enjoyable... in fact, nearly impossible!

The girls aren't sure what to make of 80 degree weather all of sudden - going from coats to sandals is a shock for sure!

In keeping with tradition, the change of season, a recent growth spurt, and some sleep disruption (Sunrise service on Easter!) brought two seizures for Gracie, not aborted by swipes of the magnet over her VNS and requiring diastat.  Tomorrow, however, we have our post-op appointment with the neurosurgeon, so we're hoping for a voltage increase.  Only two seizures (that we know of) in a month - hey! Not bad! That includes the fact that she has basically been sick with one cold after another (including fevers to 104) since the surgery as well!

Ana loves playing outside, although putting flip-flops between her toes is not so fun for her! She likes the "cute shoes" but scrunches her toes away from the strap!

Gracie has been so strong lately - independant sitting is becoming a realistic reality in the near future! She surprises us in PT all the time.  She still hates speech therapy and we have returned to doing switches/big macks, picture exchange, and signs instead of using her computer which she was not accessing at all.

Easter

Ana loves kitty cats ("meee-ow, meee-ow") so she was thrilled to get a stuffed kitty for Easter from her auntie and grandma.
Gracie was hilarious pulling her fun out of her basket, especially when she pulled out a wrapped candy and stuck the whole thing in her mouth!
Full of spunk, Ana got to wear Gracie's first easter dress - Gracie wore this when she was 3.5 years old!! Ana wore it at 16 months! :)
Gracie looked gorgeous in a dress, cardigan, and sandals that Auntie and Grandma found for her! So grown up and sophisticated! She had a seizure after the sunrise service that didn't stop with swipes of the magnet across her VNS. So she got diastat and was dopy the rest of the day... oh well! Her first seizure in a month!! We are just so happy that she is doing so well!
Gracie woke up briefly for photos and Easter baskets - the girls are so cute and are so well behaved! They are such a joy to everyone they are with. We are blessed to overflowing!

I was specifically moved this Easter as I thought about Jesus as the Lamb. I was just reading a book called, The Gospel for Real Life, where the author wrote about the two lambs in the Old Testament that were sacrificed each year for the nation of Israel. One lamb was for propitiation and was sacrificed. The high priest prayed over this lamb and confessed the sins of Israel over the lamb and the lamb died in the place of Israel to satisfy God's wrath against sin. The other lamb received the sins of Israel as well but was sent into the wilderness as a symbol of Israel's sin being flung as far as possible. The sins are forgiven, God's wrath is satisfied, and the sins are separated from us, as far as the east is from the west. Jesus was BOTH lambs and so our sin no longer separates us from the holy God, His wrath is satisfied, and our sin no longer hangs over us as a reason to feel guilty. Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior of their lives are completely forgiven by Jesus' sacrifice. Amazing Grace!!!

I thought you might enjoy a little song from our song bird! 16 month old Ana is not a great performer as she prefers to smile and say "cheese" to the camera, but every so often I capture her non-stop singing on camera!

Orphanages Can be Used Greatly by God

This article by our mission board's founder spoke to my heart for orphans.

Orphanages Can Be Used Greatly by God (Why We Cannot Just Leave Street
Children on the Street) by Doug Nichols (Missionary to Children in Africa, Asia, and Latin America since 1968)

It is very discouraging to read articles which are basically negative in regards to caring for orphans and street children in orphanages. Of course, a loving home is better than an orphanage, but does that mean we should give up on orphanages altogether? We do realize that there are some unacceptable orphanages in the world, but creating more loving God centered orphanages could bring glory to God and save
thousands of children the pain and abuse they face every day on the street. We need to support both adoption and orphanages.

Although placing a child into a loving family should be our goal, it is not always possible. An orphan or a street child is not taken directly from the street to a home. There is usually some type of government orphanage or childcare agency in which the child is placed while proper records are made. Then the child is placed into a loving family if one can be found.

So, why shouldn’t the church of Jesus Christ start many more orphanages around the world to place street and underprivileged children and orphans into a loving, Christian environment? Orphanages can be safe harbors where children can be lovingly protected and cared for until a home can be found.

The following are simple plans for a Christian Children’s Village in Africa as an example. A Christian Children’s Village with separate homes housing 12 children per home could care for 280 to 500 children! The village would have staff, supervisors, house parents, a school, an all-purpose building, a chapel, a clinic, a play area, and gardens for each house.

Children from neighboring villages could also attend the school. This would enable the orphans to be incorporated into society with other children, families, and loved ones, with the purpose of being adopted whenever possible.

To those who are criticizing orphanages and children’s villages, please, stop doing so and consider what could be done through well-run orphanages. What is the alternative? I believe you would agree that we should not leave the street children and orphans in the sewers, and streets where they are likely to be abused, but that we should place them in a loving environment where they can be cared for, nurtured and ministered to by the grace of God and the Gospel?

Children are tortured, abused, spit upon, kicked, starved and burned on the streets of the world. Why don’t you and I, as Christians, do something about it? Please, encourage your government and church to protect these children, get them off the streets, and place them where they will be loved and cared for in Jesus’ name.

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:27, ESV)

(This article was adapted by Pastor Kevin Hollinger, author of Reactive Attachment Disorder.)


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Doug's blog address: dougnichols.blogspot.com

"Knowing God, taking action" (Daniel 11:32b)

Poor sick Gracie!

(Multi-tasking is my middle name! Two snuggle bugs often need my attention at the same time, like at this bridal shower a few weeks ago!!)


Gracie is recovering well from the surgery after a miserable weekend. She is apparently allergic to codeine so she spent the entire weekend without adequate pain control at home and was so extremely itchy that she scratched herself bloody. (we can't give benadryl because it lowers the seizure threshold so she would be more likely to have a seizure.)

By Sunday night, I was really struggling with not being able to help my sweet miserable daughter who was arching and whining and fussing constantly. I realized, as I broke down and Josh sent me to bed, that I hadn't slept more than a few hours since Wednesday! I slept 12 hours, Gracie (mercifully) slept all night, and I went to work all day Monday. Monday night Gracie developed a fever above 103 that took hours to get down with tylenol, motrin, washcloths, and pacing our tiny living room with Gracie stripped to her diaper trying to cool her down (without waking up Josh and Ana with her fussing). By 5:00am, when Gracie finally fell asleep and I lay next to her waiting for a seizure from the fever (which she never had!! wow!!!), I realized that I was going to call in my first "sick day" to work so that I could take Gracie to the doctor's without bothering Josh who is completely swamped with his seminary courses this semester (Hebrew and Hermeneutics) on top of preaching, teaching, leading the music team, and discipling!

My worries about a post-operative complication were quickly dissolved when the doctor found a nasty ear infection! horray for ear infections! Just amoxicillin and we're on our way! (who's ever been happy to have an ear infection?!)

Today, I got to be "the doctor" for Gracie's preschool class as part of their "community helpers" series! It was so fun to go in dressed as the doctor that I am and talk to a class of 4 and 5 year olds! The best question I had, though, was from a kiddo who said, "If you're Gracie's mommy, why is your skin white and her skin brown?" I love it! :) All the adults loved it and were smiling as I got to explain adoption to the kids and when I said that Gracie was born in Africa, one of Gracie's friends said, "whoa!" Cute!