No Words Necessary!!

New sparkly shoes from Brie!! Thanks, Brie! I love them!

Summer 2010

Zachary and Brie came for a visit in June! It was great having them and also celebrating Zach's promotion to captain! Brie is now officially an L2 at Drexel and doing so well!

A few weeks later we had a blast traveling to South Carolina. We got some quality time with Nomi, and got to see Kayla pin on captain and then on to Georgia to watch Tyler graduate from Army Ranger school! It was a blessing to be with Phil and his parents and Monica, too!

Only problem with having grown children is it seems way too long in between visits! We are so proud of all of our children!!

Another hurdle!

As home schooling parents, it never ceases to amaze us how God gives us the grace to see our children grow and learn....most of the time, in spite of us! Our fifth child has completed the high school milestone....Josiah has graduated!!

What a wonderful and godly young man Josiah has become. He has big plans for business, music and ministry! We cannot wait to see how God will direct his life! We love you and are so proud to call you son!

We celebrated in the usual Walrond fashion. Preferably the night before graduation, we have a men's (or women's for the girls) dinner where guests give words of encouragement and wisdom to the graduate, share a meal, pray and take communion. The next day we have a ceremony beginning with a powerpoint music video of each of their lives. It is always so much fun to relive those memories!! Then Tom, the new graduate and I speak before family and friends who honor us with their presence. To conclude, we present the diploma and family ring. Then we feast!!! Most of our ideas are gleaned from the book Raising a Modern Day Night....very good!

James 1:27

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Hope is Fading from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.

Once again, it's been too long....

I think I said long ago that I'm not a very consistent blogger, but I do mean well!! The Walronds are coming up on our one year anniversary of Family Day! Hard to believe our little Olivia has been home with us that long! I have great plans to blog about Father's Day and Josiah's upcoming graduation....I will get to that as Daddy and Josiah both deserve honors!! However, in the meantime, I wanted to post a picture we just had made of Olivia---her first studio photo!

This girl loves "ho-hees"!!

She was very excited that she got to sit on one for her picture!

Zach and Kayla are safely home!!

With deployments behind them, our oldest two children are home on American soil! We are thankful for their service and safe return! We were able to spend some fun times with each one recently...grateful for their presence.


Kayla and Olivia posing for a glamour shot

A happy hubby and, of course, a happy dog...family reunited

A ride on big brother's back...

One Year Ago...

.....during lunch at a women's conference at our church titled "When Life Happens", Lauren came bursting in smiling from ear to ear. She and her daddy had come to share the news!

Life happened.....in a big way...

....we saw this precious face for the very first time....and we fell in love! Today we are honored with the privilege of raising her!

Wonderful Wednesday!!

Where is Olivia? This is how I found her...snuggled up with Gus on the guest room bed ; o )

Time with Nomi

Lauren, Olivia and I went to visit my mom a couple of weeks ago. It was so nice to have that time with her and especially good for Olivia. We all relaxed and even spent a warm sunny afternoon at the beach drawing in the sand with sea shells. We love you, Nomi!!

Revival in Haiti!! It is true....

Please pray that God would continue to draw these precious people to Him!

Haiti and My Part

With over a month having passed since the horrific earthquake in Haiti, much remains unchanged. On one hand, things are much worse for the children of Haiti as you will learn from the video clip below. I hope you are surprised and motivated by what you learn...I was!

On the other hand, hope rises! Friends of ours oversee sponsorship and mission projects for orphans in Haiti through their organization Servants for Haiti. Tremendous news reached them about revival in Haiti. A portion of this letter is pasted below. Please pray and consider the big picture presented below and ask God to show you what He wants you to do...

Special Field Report: Haiti's Orphans Held Hostage from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

News of hope rises from the rubble: part of an email received from Haiti dated 14 February

"Hello from joyous Haiti:

We have been hearing rumors that President Preval said on the radio on Friday that he has become a Christian. W-- told me he heard the president say this on the radio. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!

In Haiti that means to accept Jesus as his Savior and turn away from Voodoo which in Haiti may mean turning away from the Catholic Church. The reason for this is that Voodoo and Catholic are so deeply entwined in Haiti that it is hard to separate one from the other. Even one of the Catholic popes refused to accept Haitian Catholics because of their involvement in Voodoo.

90% of Haitians are fasting and praying and seeking the Lord for 3 days. Everything is closed. churches are so full you can't get everyone inside. People are singing and praying all day long. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!

Haiti is having REVIVAL!!!!!!"

A Call to Action from the CEO of our adoption agency AWAA:

"Dear Friends:

On January 12 in the course of only 2 minutes thousands of Haitian children became orphans. Without a say in the matter, these children became part of a global crisis – an estimated 30 million children growing up without parents – vulnerable to slavery, prostitution, gangs, exploitation, and trafficking. These children need loving, permanent families, yet our government has no focus on permanent family care for children worldwide. We must create change now to help children worldwide grow up with parents!

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee have before them The Families for Orphans Act; a bi-partisan bill that would create a State Department office and more importantly an “Orphan Champion/Advocate” specifically to speak up for these children. This Champion and the Office would build capacity in countries to enable families to raise their children at home instead of putting them in orphanages, and reunite kids currently living in orphanages with a safe family member or adopted by loving parents in their own country. The bill also includes inter-country adoption as part of the solution when it is determined to be in the best interest of the child and a permanent family is not available domestically.

What can you do?

1. Call, write a letter or e-mail to your Members of Congress asking them to become Co-Sponsors of the Families for Orphans Act. You can find your Representative at www.house.gov and your Senators at www.senate.gov. Feel free to use the following text as a guideline:

“As one of your constituents I am requesting that you support the “Families for Orphans Act” and become a Co-Sponsor of the legislation now. Many of the tragedies involving Haitian orphans would not have happened if we had had better global support for permanent family care for orphans in countries in need. We hope you will consider standing up for the millions of children around the world growing up in orphanages without the love and support of a permanent family. For information on becoming a Co-Sponsor, please contact Senators Landrieu or Inhofe or Representatives Watson or Boozman.”

2. Sign the Families for Orphans Act petition on the Kidsave website, www.kidsave.org.

Please help us move this bill NOW and give children worldwide a greater chance to grow up with a mom and dad. On behalf of America World Adoption, the Families for Orphans Coalition and most importantly, the children, we thank you for helping.

Sincerely,

Brian Luwis CEO & Founder America World Adoption"

Big Snow!

For Chesapeake, this is an historic snow!! We had about 8 inches at last check, but the snow was still falling about 5 pm! When olivia woke up I told her there was a surprise outside---when she saw it she made the sign for cold and just grinned.

After breakfast, Olivia and I began layering on the clothing for our outdoor adventure. Tom wasn't feeling well at all today so it was just Olivia and I out in the snow for about an hour and a half. She "helped " shovel the driveway and slid down the front steps. I think the only reason she wanted to go in was the wind blowing stingy sleet on her face. Finally she had enough of the cold...me too! Here are a few pics plus some of Dutch and Gus romping in the snow!

"As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10-11

Adoption?

Came across this from another blog and thought it so very perfect! When others ask us why we adopted when our nest was almost empty with the finish line in sight? This is the answer...........Why wouldn't I? Although the process is arduous at best and we are unsure where the money will come from and the fears must be squashed over and over by my tiny measure of faith, God may not be finished with us yet!....

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Two Months is Too Long...

We've just celebrated Olivia's 6 month mark being home with us. The time has certainly flown by and much has happened. She healed very well from her surgery and the soft diet didn't seem too hard for her, thankfully. Thanksgiving was very memorable! Time at Granddaddy and Nomi's house in SC---Tyler, aunts, uncles, nephew, niece, Nana--so wonderful! Little did we know that in two weeks my father would be home with the Lord. Those memories are all the more precious. I very much wanted Olivia's grandfather to have more time with her. Yet it is amazing that in the two nice visits she had with him, he made such a lasting impression on her. She just last week carried his photograph around --kissing it over and over.

You know the Third Day song "I Wish You Merry Christmas"? Well, I so looked forward to this Christmas with Olivia finally home! It was wonderful but also difficult for all of us with Granddaddy gone. How do folks do it without the hope of life everlasting and full of glory?! First Christmas with Olivia, first Christmas without my dad. Bittersweet!

We were honored to have my mom with us for the holidays. I have seen a strength in my mom that I only wish I had---she is humble, trusting, and so brave. Christmas Eve would have been my parents 59th anniversary! What a legacy!

The new year came on strong. Olivia has speech therapy every Wednesday in our home---courtesy of Chesapeake County and we are so happy. Stephanie is great with Olivia, and Olivia looks forward to her visits.

I'll finish with a huge thank you to the Lord for all of His rich blessings!