Friends!Natasha wasn't well enough for us to go to IHC this year and we all greatly missed going. One of the reasons that it's fun to go is getting to meet up with friends that we normally don't get to see, except each year at IHC. We had a wonderful treat in that these dear friends of ours agreed to come out of their way and meet us at a restaurant for some food and fellowship! Natasha and Brittany are friends with these girls as we are with their parents. Darla and Bryan were here too, but wanted to sit by themselves, and so I forgot to get their pic! Thank you SO much, Ferguson's for this meeting. It meant SO much to all of us, but especially Natasha! God Bless You All! (Our kids are loving the Church Christmas play that you gave them... especially "Megan!" Lots of laughs it has generated here at our Haus!)

What did you say? EHH? You thought Christmas was over! Well, not for me! I saved the money I got from Christmas and bought myself some......GLASSES! Yes, I have officially gotten old! Actually, I've needed glasses for 4 years but didn't want to spend the money - too many other things on the list.
Me and my favorite girl friend! When I introduce myself to my students I usually say, "I have been married for 20 plus years, have 4 kids....and 1 wife." They get a kick out of that - to which I respond. "That's the way it's supposed to be." I love teaching non-native English speaking students. They actually laugh at my twisted humor. They really laugh when I tell them of my cultural blunders over the years.

Just wanted to update you on some of the specifics of Natasha's surgery. We would ask that you continue to pray for the healing process. The important part now is that 'fusion' takes place. The body must accept the 'laboratory' bone that was placed in her spine. If the body accepts this 'laboratory bone' then fusion takes place and the surgery is successful. However, if the body rejects this new 'lab. bone' then they will have to do surgery again. This is the process where they trick the body into thinking your back is broken so that it will grow new bone (lab. bone is not an actual bone). The new bone grows around the rods and fuses together. Lord Willing! We just wanted to let you know, so that you would know how better to pray; however, aren't you glad that God knows it all! We don't have to have the correct terminology - He understands! Slava Boga!

Sunday School Class Greetings!
Natasha has gotten so many phone calls, cards, texts, letters, all kinds of sweet notes from all of God's Family... all over the world. Yesterday, she got a large envelope containing notes from a sweet 5th Grade S.S. Class in PA that she has never met, telling her that they were praying for her! Thank you girls, so much! She will thank you personally later. Your prayers have and continue to mean SO much!
Blessings on ALL of you who have taken the time to say You Care and You Are Praying!

Our Kids Easter Basket~ Thanks to Hausman's!!!
Sometime after Natasha's surgery, I got a text from Daryl's mom saying that she and Dad would take care of the kids Easter basket! How nice that was to hear, for We've had very little time to shop... (and those of you who know me well also know that I seem to be a rarity among females in that... Shopping is NOT my thing!) So a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to you, Dad and Mom for the wonderful, actually BEYOND wonderful, HUGE Easter basket for our kiddos! (they are sharing with us too, kind of them, huh?!)

Thank You, Lord!
Today, we are praising Jesus for this date, April 28th was the date originally scheduled for Natasha to have her Spinal-Fusion surgery, but God saw fit to allow there to be an opening one month ago today and thank the Lord her surgery is behind her now!!!

Fun Easter Treats for our neighbors!
Someone called and offered to bring our meal for Resurrection Lord's Day, so with that offer it gave me time to make Easter treats for our neighbors! This is something that I really like to do, I see it as a ministry, a way of connecting with them, praying it will be a way to reach them for Jesus over time! The kids helped me, even Natasha came over the join the assembly line for a few minutes! The Kids enjoy doing this too! Darla and Bryan especially enjoy taking them house to house, which is FINE WITH ME!!

He Is Risen!

Natasha got to go with us to church for a little while to help celebrate His Resurrection! She had hoped to be able to make it all the way through Pastor's sermon, but only made it about 1/3 way through as it was getting to be too much! It was SO nice to have her with us. She chose to sit in the vestibule so as not to be "front and center"! :) Jesus helped her and gave her the strength to make it, though she was one weary girl for the remainder of the day!

Our First Family Outing ~ After Natasha's Surgery!

We were given a gift card for McDonald's and Natasha said her McChicken sandwich never tasted SO good! It was so nice to be out as a family! This was Good Friday p.m. to give Natasha a chance to see outside our four walls and in preparation for our Sunday outing to church for her 1st service back to church since mid-February!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was exhausted beyond words, but so glad that she went out!

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! This saying has become so special to us since arriving in Russia as missionaries. I don't know where I was in previous years in the U.S., but I don't ever recall the church folk saying this. If so, it was done so few times that it never sunk in. However, on Easter morning in Russia, every child of God that you locked eyes with - it was mandatory that you either instigate or reciprocate the saying (mandatory is a little strong, but you get the point). Additionally, on Easter morning, the place of worship was ALIVE! I could sense the electricity in the air, and it wasn't some built up emotion due to loud music and a heavy beat. God's children brought that electricity with them. He was alive in them; therefore, the place was alive. We serve a risen Savior! He's alive! Praise be to God.
In addition to what Daryl has written above, what stood out to me, was even the non-believers on the street greeted us with "Eesus Vas Cris!" And we answered to the best of our ability, "Vaestanus, Vas Cris!" He is Risen, He is Risen, Indeed! (First, I must apologize to our Russian Friends for the spelling errors that are very evident above! :) And then I must apologize to our dear Romanian Friends, for we can't remember how it was said in Romanian, though I remember hearing it as well there!) Now in Cincinnati, OH... As our neighbors partied late into the night last night and I was awakened by their obscene yelling and laughter, my heart was SO saddened if it had not been wee hours of the a.m. I could have cried and tears are now very present! Who Am I that I should know about Jesus and have a personal relationship with Him? What privileges I have, and ALL BECAUSE OF CALVARY. Truly, "Because He Lives,... I Can Face Tomorrow!" Praise Him, this Resurrection Morning! How I Love Jesus and thank Him for my redemption!

We aren't celebrating 'Earth Day!' Absolutely not! We are celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Easter is a Christian Holiday and it's not about Easter bunnies and eggs. Every Lord's Day is in fact a celebration of His resurrection! He is Risen! He is risen indeed!

Elevated Mealtime!
We've had to re-invent the wheel so to speak with Natasha needing to wear her brace as well as not being allowed to bend her neck down at all! So if you look closely you'll see a 6 qt pot upside-down holding her plate up to where she can see it to eat! :) We enjoyed our 1st meal that I've had to cook since her surgery, thanks to the gracious ladies and friends from our church. We had Pork, Sauerkraut, Mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans. I LOVE this with homemade cornbread, but was lazy and just served leftover rolls. Bryan would gladly "sacrifice" his helping of sauerkraut next time, if you wanna stop by! :)

Haus Kitchen Officially Re-Opened!

One of our favorite treats is fresh hot chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of cold milk. And since Natasha's surgery we've been being blessed by such wonderful meals that we've not needed any more treats. The dear ladies from our church have showered us with delicious meals and we are VERY thankful and feel very spoiled.
Those meals and almost all of the leftovers are finished now and so it was time to re-open the kitchen and what better way to do this, than fresh hot chocolate chip cookies... these are actually mint chocolate chip cookies! Yum! Now it's time to get more milk! :)

Gift Baskets from Family!

Natasha has had so much trouble with her TMJ that we've saved much as we could of these for her to have later, when she can chew without jaw pain! We sure did enjoy this yummy fruit basket as it wouldn't keep. I made Natasha a couple of smoothies out of some of the fruit, so she got to enjoy some of it!

It's Spring!
We've been having SO much rain that I've not needed to use this to water my flowers (especially those that aren't even planted yet :) ... But I did find another use for it that was a huge blessing! I never do things "alone", so since I firmly believe I am who I am, do what I do, live how I live because of Him... JESUS! That's Who I give credit for everything I accomplish or strive to do in life. (Now, I don't go so far as to "blame" Him for all that I DON'T GET accomplished and wished I had! :) But that's for another post some other time! :)

Back to our Flower Watering Can... As you all know, Natasha has VERY LONG, VERY THICK, hair and with the Doctor's instructions... "it was safe for her to shower, but NO WATER DIRECTLY HITTING HER SPINE from the shower nozzle" had me puzzled. I've been at a HUGE loss as to how to wash her hair. [Now she would want me to MAKE SURE YOU KNEW that I have washed it with the waterless shampoo someone graciously gave us in her Sunshine Basket.] I had thought about taking her to a beauty salon just to have her hair washed, but since her hair is nearly to her knees, I was SO afraid to take her for fear of what on earth they'd want to charge! So while chatting with my dear lil' neighbor lady the other afternoon, the Lord brought this watering can to my mind and by putting a towel over her incision we were able to wash her hair!
Tulips are some of Natasha's favorite flowers and since they were on sale, she needed another boost and I could double my money by drying the bulbs and replanting them... we got her these last weekend to encourage her heart!

First Outdoor Walk With Daddy

Natasha has walked outside before, i.e. getting from our vehicle to our "Haus" but these pics, (though not that great expression wise) are of her 1st walk - just for the fun of it- outside!!! We live in "Hilly Cincy", so her walks right now are limited, for the Doctor doesn't want her walking uphills yet. So in order to walk longer, we'll have to drive her to a flat surface and then let her walk! :)
Every new day is a cause for us to rejoice. It's hard to believe that it was 3 weeks ago today already, that we started this journey! God is So Good!

Natasha had a good night last night - Slava Boga! She's resting more and going longer periods without meds. God has been helping her and we praise Him!

Natasha received a special treat today. Around noon (EST), some of our friends from Russia called to talk to Natasha. In particular, Anya (pronounced Ahn - yuh), Natasha's friend from Russia called to speak for a while. This was a special treat - Natasha's face lit up and she was very touched by their thoughtfulness. Thank you Vlad, Pastor Anatoly, Dema, Anya, and anyone else involved to make this happen. We appreciate your friendship, sacrifice, and especially your prayers. We love you all!

Maybe only in heaven will we gain a better understanding of how our prayers went around the world and moved the hand of God. Brothers and Sisters, we have a lot of work to do! Now is no time to be satisfied with life. Let's press onward and upward!

Dear Prayers,
Thank YOU ever so much for continuing to pray for Natasha! I wanted to report an answer to prayer. Last night was our BEST night as far as sleep, pain, no bad dreams, since her surgery over 2 weeks ago. We haven't talked about it much, no need, but we have been getting very little sleep. And as you know she needs her rest to be able to heal properly! God is so good! I had called her Doctor but they didn't have many options to give her to switch her meds and so we just went to prayer. Our Great Physician knows how to by pass all the evil reactions of the meds right now, and He did! Keep praying for Natasha as the road to recovery is long, but we are definitely sure that He is leading us. In my devotions recently I read the verse in Isaiah 30:21 " And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." I'm SO glad that Jesus guides! He doesn't limit His leading to just "important stuff", but He guides us according to which way is best as far as our healing goes too!

And if you'll allow a testimony from me as I quote from Isaiah again.

"Praise the Lord, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
Sing to the Lord,
for He has done excellent things;..." Isaiah 12:4-5a

God is SO good and we desire that He gets the glory in EVERY endeavor of our lives, and we praise Him!

The Kids visiting their sister for her 18th Birthday!

we plan to celebrate in a BIG way when she is able to get her brace off and is able to chew properly! She requested that we do this. We have celebrated, but only in a quiet way, since that is all she feels like right now! we are thankful for every little step towards healing that God is giving us! love you all and thanks so much for standing by us! The fleece blanket covering Natasha is a gift from our sweet neighbor lady across the street from us! Thank you, Mrs Neal!