We have been doing preschool everyday now that the kids are back in school. It has been a lot of fun. I finally feel like I am spending some good time with the 2 youngest. It amazes me how much both Elizabeth and Ri know. They both know the sound of every letter. Most kids learn the letter before the sound, but not my Ri. He cracks me up. When I point to a letter, he instantly makes the sound of the letter, but he can't necessarily tell me what letter it is. Too funny. Now we are working on learning how to write the letters. Ri wrote his name for the first time. It was very exciting for him. Elizabeth's name is too big and a bit overwhelming for her to even think about writing.

We went to watch Jacob run in his cross country meet. The setting was so pretty that I had Em sit down and take a few pictures; trying to find good backgrounds for her senior pictures.

We are so proud of all that Jacob is working to accomplish. Go Jacob!!

There have been a few times in my life when I could almost feel God wrapping His arms around me and holding me close, as if whispering to me His love. Saturday, when I opened up an email with the subject line of ... Ri... I had that feeling again. I felt as if God was saying to me "Ri is mine. I created him and I have a plan and a purpose for his life. I held him until you were ready for him. I have protected him and have entrusted you with him. He is my child and one day, he will know my love and will trust in me."

As I read the email, I began to cry. I was flooded with so many emotions and overwhelmed that God chose us to raise Ri. More then once, I have caught myself just staring into Ri's eyes, smiling, having been reminded of God's complete touch in His life. I can't wait for Ri to experience that love in a personal way. One day, I am confident that this letter will be priceless to our son.

Hi Darcy…

I’ve been watching your blog for quite a while; somehow I feel compelled to send you a note tonight, to let you know how purposefully the Lord has assembled your family.

My husband and I have a little girl whom we adopted from China last year through FTIA. Your blog has been so important to me over the past year because I believe that we reviewed RiChen’s file right before your family did. When we put him “on hold,” I was 100% certain that we would commit to him, and we were so excited. I remember crying over the sweet baby pictures of him, just falling in love with his innocent little face. We had an international adoption doc review his file, and she said that he would be fine. His picture was blown up to nearly life-size on our refrigerator, and our other kids joined in the debate about his name.

Finally, we went to the Lord for what we thought would be a rubber stamp yes concerning our plans. (Obviously, we failed to seek Him first in this. We’re learning….) I couldn’t have been more surprised when we both immediately sensed a lack of peace about the adoption. Again and again, we asked God to speak to us, and every single time we felt that he simply wasn’t ours. I can’t tell you how frustrated I felt; I already loved him! I kept reminding the Lord that He had called us to adopt and that this boy needed a home! The Lord consistently withheld peace, despite my efforts to will my heart into a peaceful state. God said NO.

I called Maury on a Friday afternoon to return RiChen’s file to FTIA so that he’d be “available” again for weekend surfers. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever cried so bitterly. My husband and I spent a ton of time that night on the floor begging God to please, please, please cause a Jesus-following family to see his picture on the website immediately and to be led to bring him home.

In my small, human, self-involved mind, I literally worried that we were RiChen’s only chance to meet the savior; that our returning his file might have closed an eternal door for him. We struggled so mightily with the concept that we had rejected someone so precious to the Lord, despite our certainty that God had told us to do so. I can’t tell you how often I checked the website to see if he’d moved to “on hold.” My husband would call me and say, “anything with RiChen?” daily. We were in a serious funk about that little boy.

Well, Ha! WE were NOT Ri’s only opportunity to meet the Lord! God had such beautiful, perfect plans for him! How we rejoiced when his name moved to “on hold” and then, hallelujia!, “promised!” And then, one day when we were in process with the child who was for us, I summoned up all of my bravery (I was always afraid of annoying Maury & Betty), and I asked if Ri’s family had a blog that she knew about. She sent me the link to your blog, and I had the second-biggest cry of my life when I “met” your family and learned about your love for the Lord and for Ri. It was and is so clear to me that he is YOURS, and I rejoice in the sovereignty of our God, who always knew where Ri belongs.

Today, I enjoy checking in to your blog from time to time because I love seeing how he is growing and thriving in your big, wonderful family. I almost always cry because it is so easy for me to imagine how naturally he will step into a friendship with Jesus as he watches his parents and siblings walk this thing out with such authenticity. I also cry when I realize how much God used Ri to prepare us to recognize God’s “YES!” concerning our little girl.

So, please know that you and Ri and your family are always in my prayers, and that I count your “finding” Ri as one of the great answers to prayer in my life so far.

Many, many blessings to you-

Have you ever been on a letter hunt? Well, Elizabeth, Ri and I went on one this morning. Today, we hunted for the letter A. Both the small and the capital.
The kids were so thrilled to find a letter "a". At this angle, you can't see the "a", but they are pointing to it.

We spied the letter "A" in the trees. Can you see it?

We also worked on some shapes. Here is a heart.

No letter here, just an incredibly handsome little boy!

For the past 120 days, Emily has had an alert on her cell phone counting down the days until The Jonas Brothers arrived in Columubus. She and her good friend stood in line and managed to get tickets to, supposably, the biggest concert around. She never cared that school started, simply because that meant that the next day was the big concert! So.. Saturday, they made a day out of it and traveled to Columbus to see the Jonas Brothers in Concert. Emily says it was the best concert she has ever been to and she had a blast.

My husband was such a trooper. He insisted that Emily use his car to go to the concert. What he wasn't aware of before he told them to use it is that they had gone and bought car paint to write all over the windows. He simply grimaced (with a smile) and let them "have at it". They were very proud of their artwork.

Evidently, the tour bus for the Jonas Brothers is quite decorated with graffitti from their fans. Emily was glad to add to the art.



A dream come true for Emily... even if she was in the "nosebleed" section.

We spent a wonderful day with Mark's family. It was such a joy to spend some time with his sister and brother-in-law. Sam caught a huge bullfrog (actually - he caught 3 of them). Uncle Ed quickly grabbed the frog that he "caught" just for this "kodak moment". It cracked us all up.
The little ones were fascinated with the frogs. They were so big that we kept them in this cat cage (at least until it was time to go - we insisted they be let free to go see their mommy and daddy)

If you look really close, you can see the water being tossed out of the cage by the bullfrog.

A few thoughts on my precious little son, Ri. Wow - God has worked so many miracles in his little life. I can't wait to see what He has planned for him! It has been a while since I have shared about his personality and his growth. Sometimes, he takes my breath away .. while others times, he takes my patience away :) But all the time, I am simply amazed that he is our son and how God brought him into our lives. I am truly a blessed mom. I can't imagine our lives without him.

It amazes me that he has been through so much. I am so thankful that he was given life. He was given a chance to live by his birth parents. I am confident that they loved him and chose life for him. I am confident that they must have known how sick he was and felt that the only way to save his life was to lay him at the gates of the hospital and leave. It is a mighty love and one I pray that my son will always hold onto. Nothing was outside of God's plan. He orchestrated every detail of Ri's life, including his parents feeling they had no other option. But God held onto our son and continued to give him life. The orphanage that he was placed in was one filled with women who seemed to truly love the kids. They gave him all that they were able to give him, including a second chance for life. When he was desparate for surgery, they petitioned for him and with the help of China and a special foundation, he was given the surgery he needed to repair his heart. He was given life, again. And while he waited to be united with us, he was loved by them.

We are so very, very thankful for the orphanage and the nannies and the volunteers who loved our son. I wish that I could share with them the love that we have for him and how wonderful he is doing!

Ri is full of life. He is ALL boy. Mark use to say all the time, and I agree, that Ri looks at life and any situation that is tough and seems to say "bring it on, I've been through much more". It is amazing to watch him take pain or frustration head on and "conquer" it. He seems to have a spirit within him that does not quit. Most of the time, I absolutely adore that part of him; but sometimes, it can truly try me. Did I mention he was all boy?!!! Wow - that is an understatement. I watch him play and giggle because he can't seem to sit still (though I have to admit that at times it is difficult to giggle; especially when I am talking to him and trying to get him to learn something or when we are in a store or somewhere when he really does need to sit still). It is as if he can't seem to get enough exploring done. No matter where we go or what we do, he seems to have to touch it and explore it. He can't keep his hands off. When I ask him to stop, he tries to with all his heart (I can see it in him), but something within him seems to call out louder and he just can't help himself but grab it or repeat it. It used to be that I got angry about it, but lately, God has reminded me of how very precious Ri is and how very much of a little boy he is. There is something about little boys and how God as created them that they just can't seem to sit still or keep their hands off of things. They are constantly touching and hitting and pushing things; constantly trying to see how things work, crashing things to hear the noise, doing things to see if you really meant what you said, teasing just to get a loud response, saying what you don't want them to say.... they are just boys! Now a days, I can laugh for more often then I use to. He really does crack me up. And when I stop and remember all that this little guy has been through, all I want to do is pick him up and cuddle with him.

But... cuddle is something Ri does not like to do. Oh don't get me wrong, he loves to be loved on. He loves for us to kiss him all over, only to purposely wipe those kisses off and watch us respond. He smiles from ear to ear and then waits for us to kiss him again so he can wipe those kisses away. He loves to be cuddled, but he wouldn't admit it to anyone! :) Boy does he crack me up.


He is talking all the time, though he tends to have a huge stuttering problem. Right now, I think it is just because he is thinking faster then his mind can come up with the words. It is very cute to listen to him. He is very insistent on keeping up with Elizabeth on just about anything she does or says. He is an incredible mimic of her. In fact, Elizabeth has probably taught him more then anyone. They truly are best of friends. They need each other.

Well, I am going to end for now. I have so much more to say about my precious, priceless, treasure, but I need to get some things done.

Sam played in his first home game for high school last night. What fun it was to watch him play. He has grown up so much. He did a great job and the team won!



Yesterday was a big day in the Miller home. We gained another driver. Most moms might be a little on the nervous side. Me? Well, I think I hit the excited side. Erin passed her drivers test and is now officially able to driver herelf to all her practices! Yippee! She was very excited and is begging to be able to drive somewhere... anywhere.. all by herself.

And finally, as the summer comes to an end and a new school year begins, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite memories. We did not get to do much as a family, whihc makes me very, very sad... but we did make a few wonderful memories. I guess as the kids grow up, things will never be as they were again. I think we are beginning a new season in our life. I am not so sure I like this season. Gone are the days of being able to hop in a car and go somewhere as a family. Now, it is a nightmere trying to work around 3 high schoolers' schedules. I guess "nightmere" isn't the appropriate word... "impossible" might be better!

Anyway, here are some memories:

* Jacob breaking his arm just a week before school was out. It isn't one of my favorite memories, but definitely a memory!

* Walking into town from our house (a 9 mile walk) with Jacob, Erin, Elizabeth and Ri. That was definitely a highlight for me! I loved every minute of it.

* Catching up with Jacob and Erin when they biked to Johnstown (a 30 mile ride) in a down pour of rain. It was such a sweet site to finally catch up with them and then to see their smiles and listen to them beg me to continue riding.

* A HUGE highlight for me was - first - realizing that I could IM my son while he was in Poland and THEN.... SEEING HIS PRECIOUS FACE and holding him in my arms for the first time after a month!

* Talking with Emily late at night as she dealt with the change in plans while she was in Florida. Listening to her broken heart and imagining many such phone calls in just a year from now when she is away at college.

* Picking Erin up from soccer camp and hearing her be awarded the soccer player with the most promise.

* Picking berries and watching the little ones inhale them!

* going to the fireworks with Ri and Elizabeth and watching the "booms".

* Kings Island

* the shock of Elizabeth's haircut

* Erin's suprise birthday party and finally completing her book

* DRIVE In movies at our house!

All tuckered out after a long day of play.







We have looked forward to spending the day at Kings Island ever since last year when Elizabeth and Ri enjoyed it for their first time. We were so disappointed this year because Erin and Sam could not join us. It was so sad to leave them at home, only with their schedules, it just wasn't something we could work out. That made us all sad. But, despite missing Erin and Sam, and despite the crowd, we enjoyed the day. It is so much fun to see an amusement park through the eyes of 3 year olds. Emily and Jacob thrilled us to no end. They had more fun watching Elizabeth and Ri then riding rides. I think they spent the majority of the time with us then riding rides on their own. It was precious.

Our Family Tree

A long time ago, Mark carved our names into a tree in our back woods. We both loved it. Then he carved Emily, Erin, Sam and Jacob's name into the tree. We all enjoyed it at the time, but when Elizabeth and Ri became our daughter and son, Mark carved their names into it and named it "our family tree". The little ones always run to it and proudly point to their names.

One of Erin's strengths in soccer is her ability to head the ball. She has scored many goals using her head. She has an incredible talent of twisting her head in just the perfect way to aim the ball wherever she wants it to go. It is very fun to watch her.


My little Emily is growing up. Gone our the days when her room was plastered, wall to wall, with Posters of the Jonas Brothers and High School Musical. SHe has transfered those posters into her closet walls and now has walls filled with splatter painted papers. Here is the result of a day of splatter painting. I have to say, she had a lot of fun.




Friends of ours came to visit last week. It is amazing how or families have grown since they moved to Kentucky 5 or so years ago.



During the midst of one of Emily's senior picture outings, I convinced Jacob to take a few pictures for me as well. He is so handsome! I really liked this one!




While the pictures were being taken, Ri explored the waters. He is so funny.




This is soooo Jacob! He has a very hard time taking pictures because he doesn't really know how to hold his face. I can't tell you the number of goofy pictures I have of my little boy. He cracks me up!



Sam and Jacob were being so silly with their sisters. I love this one of Sam and Em. He is such a gentleman!




We are in full swing even before school starts. Just to give you an example of my schedule, I thought I would share one of my days with you. Jacob had cross country practice at 7:30 am, Erin had to be at practice at 8:00, Sam had to be there by 8:30, Jacob needed picked up at 9:00, Erin was done at 10:30, and Sam done at noon. Erin had drivers ed at noon, picked up at 2:00. THen Jacob had soccer practice at 6:00 and picked up at 7:30. Thursday, Jacob had CC practice at 7:30, Emily and Sam had to be at school for Freshman orientation at 9:00, though Em had to be there at 8:30 because she was a Senior Mentor. Jacob was done at 9:00, but had to walk over to the school for Web Team from 9-1:00. At noon, Erin had to be dropped off at the school for her scrimmage which started at 1:00. I dropped her off, ran to Walmart, then called Em to pick up Jacob at 1:00 and take him to his book club. While she picked up Jacob, I ran to Probate Court to finalize Ri's re-adoption (if I want a birth certificate, we have to readopt him in the states). Em and I then met because of thunder and threat of storm. I did not want to drag the 2 little ones to Erin's scrimmage if it was going to storm, plus Ri really needed a nap. I then headed back to the school to watch Erin's game. She played until 3:30, but needed to sit through the JV game. I then headed to pick Jacob back up. I had to run home because I had left Jacob's practice stuff in the van when Em and I switched. I arranged someone to bring Erin home. In the meantime, my precious Emily had cleaned our house, watched the little ones and made dinner for everyone (she will make some lucky young man an incredible wife!). Everyon gobbled food, I fielded a phone call from the Dispatch who wanted to interview me about the Freshwater case (ugh.. I was caught totally off guard on that one!) I then grabbed Jacob, Sam and Sam's friend Jackson and ran back into town. We dropped off Jacob at soccer practice (it was a long day for Jacob), and headed to school. We were an hour early. At 7:00, we had freshman orientation at the school. Jacob's coach dropped him off at the school for me so that I could be at the high school for Sam (can't believe he is in high school already!). By 8:00, we were finally on our way home. Whew... what a couple of days!

In 8 days, my kids go back to school. I hate this time of year. I hate it when they are in school. I have struggled ever since EMily walked into Kindergarten. I don't like the idea of someone else influencing my kids some 200+ days of the year for 7 hours a day. It just drives me crazy! There are excellent teachers of whom I trust completely to teach my children. But there are some who are down right horrible and don't belong in the school system. There are those that encourage my kids and there are those who completely destroy them. There are some whose morals and character are outstanding and they are great role models for our children and then there are those with so little character or morals that I dread my children ever being influenced by them.

Our children are grounded in the truth, but as our lives have become fuller, our teaching has become much more lax. It is so frustrating. I want them prepared to handled anything God allows to cross their paths, yet I feel as if I have failed in preparing them as I should. So, when school time comes around, I get a deep ache inside... one of sadness because I miss them, one of fear because of what I know they will face. It's not so bad when they are in elementary school, but as they enter middle school and high school, things change. Right now, Jacob will be dumped into a pool of rididule and cutting remarks from peers. He will be judged, criticized, ridiculed, harrassed, and who knows what else. Unless you are in the "elite", you will face some form of judgement from peers. It is just the middle school age. It depends on your strength on whether the critical remarks or jabbing from your peers causes you to become stronger or whether it gives you a complex and insecurity about who you are. I watched it in the other 3. By 7th grade, Emily was in a position of "counseling" friends who wanted to committ suicide, had been raped, were being abused, and a lesbian. The pressure on her was so great that in the 8th grade, we chose to homeschool her. It was the best decision I think we have ever made. She mentioned, yesterday, how she wouldn't trade that year for anything in this world. By 8th grade, Erin had been completely abandoned and ridiculed by her best friends. She had made a stand for Christ in 7th grade. I believe that the stand she made caused her to be separate form her peers and thus, she began to face much from those who were friends. It was an incredibly hard 8th grade year for Erin. If I had it to do all over again, I would have insisted on homeschooling her that year. But, she wanted to play basketball and "loved" school so much that she didn't want to be pulled out. You see, despite the difficulty the kids face, I think it was harder to imagine being so different as to be out of school for a year and then reenter. Sam had just as hard, if not harder, 7th and 8th grade year. Much was do to friends and to being "different". For our kids, they still have never seen an R rated movie (except for the Passion). They aren't allowed to go to someone's house that we do not know the parents or the kids. They aren't allowed to go to parties or run around all over where I have no clue where they are. They aren't allowed boyfriends or girlfriends until they are 16 years old. They don't swear, they are good students, and their mom shows up at school unexpectedly ALL the time. In a nut shell.. they are "weird" by the standards of most of their peers. I am greatful for the handful of friends that each have had that have the same standards, but oh how hard it is to be compared to what most of the other kids their age are allowed to do. Yes, we are different. Many think I am overprotective. In some ways, they are right. There are some things I am confident that I dont' allow just out of fear of how it will effect our kids. But the majority of things are out of love for them and love for God. What is difficult is that there are many things that are not black and white in the Bible. For some, it is perfectly fine to do things while others interpret the Bible completely different and it is not fine to do. I am sure that I have erred on both sides of the spectrum. I probably have kept our kids from doing things when it was totally fine for them to do while at other times I have probably allowed them to do things that God would frown upon. It is difficult. And ... I find that as the kids get older and are exposed to more and more things, it is much more difficult to be discerning and the decisions become more and more difficult to make. And.. with the addition of Ri and Elizabeth, ... my energy and thought process is so strained. What use to be black and white for me is now somehow become grey.

Wow -- did I rabbit trail or what? Sorry about that. I got to thinking about Jacob and middle school and off I went. Middle School is so hard. And, my precious Jacob, is so very, very different. He loves God with all that He has. He doesn't miss a day of reading his bible and if he has any doubt that something is something God commands him not to do... then he won't do it. He doesn't care what others think of him. It bothers him when kids swear, when they talk about perverted things, when they disrespect someone else, when they cheat or get away with cheating, when he is treated wrongly. And THAT describes the majority of Middle School kids in one way or another. Oh, there are some great kids, don't get me wrong. But, because Jacob thinks differently (and that IS an understatement) and because he looks at things is such a unique way, he is "different" from the "normal" 12 year old.

And let's not stop at Middle School. I have Sam entering into High School. Have you ever been in a locker room of High School boys? They are relentless. They have the ability to crush a kid with one single "blow". The comments they make towards other kids, especially the freshmen, is unbelievable. A junior on the soccer team didn't like that Sam got the ball away from him, so he tackled him and jammed his knee into his face. Now, was the knee incident an accident? Probably, but still... tackling him just because he got the ball away from him? So, without complaining, Sam took the tackle, faces the harassment daily, and realizes (or at least believes) that most of the upperclassmen hate the freshmen and freshmen are the target. And girls? Ha.. the drama in high school is incredibly ridiculous. Did I say ridiculous? That is an understatement. I can not believe how truly horrible it gets. Emily has faced more in high school then I think I have ever faced my entire life. Erin has witnessed to more kids then I think I have ever considered witnessing to. They deal with more then any of us adults could imagine. They live in another world then we did growing up. Oh, we faced drugs, teenage pregnancy here and there, a few "weird" kids, some who drank and smoked (the hoodlums as we called them), a bully now and then.... but have you stopped and walked the halls of a high school lately? Have you sat down and talked with a teenager and discovered some of the things that they deal with daily? Have you seen the things that use to shock you and I, that they take as "norm"? Today, homosexuality and bisexual is not a shock or rare, but somewhat normal, partying is normal, drinking is more common then uncommon, sex is part of a friendly relationship, living together is certainly normal while marriage is something you might "try". Abortions are the way to get rid of a problem and talked about openly. Drugs are easy to get, cheating is excepted, texting is the in thing while calling on the phone is out. IM and Facebook and Texting in the way to communicate. Talking about God is not allowed in the schools, unless you use the name before a curse word or use it as a curse word. Then it is perfectly fine for a teacher to speak it. Christianity is now something administrations fear to speak of while they openly and willing speak of other religions.

Ok.. I am on my soapbox. In a nutshell... I hate my kids being in this type of environment all day, 5 days a week for 9 months. It is hard on me. I can't take every battle on for them. They are on their own in many of the battles they face. I can only pray, and unfortuantely I seem to fail at praying for all they need. But.... God is alive, He is aware of ALL that my kids face, and He is their protector and their banner. If they hold Him as the banner as they face the battle, they will come out of the battle in a victory and more like Christ.

Ok.... enough. Sorry for the rambling.