The Loux Family Blog » 2009 » November

Let The Fun Begin!

Renee Loux — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:23:00 +0000

As most of you know, if you’ve read the previous post written by Derek, our entire family (yes, all 12 of us) just returned from an amazing all expense paid trip to LA. I’ll be posting more pictures this week of our awesome adventure. The local LA business that made this trip possible just blew our minds with their kindness and love towards our family. The owner of the company that dreamed up and facilitated this entire blessing has the heart of Christ. She is such a humble and beautiful person and the love of Jesus is so evident in her life! Thank you again to our special new friend who made this entire trip to LA (including Disneyland and Universal Studios) possible!!! Here are the pictures from our flight to LA.

Ethan, chillin on the plane with some great tunes! He was so calm on the whole flight.... a big change from his first airplane ride from Ukraine to his new home in the U.S.!

Happy Silas sure enjoyed the flight... no crying or fussin at all!

Sasha, Soph and Leeann flying the friendly skies

The father of 11 children (including our son who is with Jesus) Just look at that peaceful countenance! Could the headphones have something to do with that? HA!

Tey and Mama

Key, getting excited about her trip to LA

Michaela, lovin on her little world traveler brother, Ethan. He's not having it too rough. With a pretty sister like this, feeding him cheese crackers and stroking his head while he listens to his favorite tunes..... what a life!

Poor little Sana got sick on the plane!

A Grateful Heart

Renee Loux — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:06:10 +0000

There is nothing more powerful in our lives to keep us in the light of wisdom and reason than a grateful heart. Romans 1:21 says that “Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” Ingratitude leads to ignorance which results in darkness and foolishness.

As we celebrated Thanksgiving we had so much to be grateful for. We’ve watched the Lord add five beautiful children to our family this year alone, felt the grace and supernatural love of God imparted to us, blending us into a family and helping us find our new “normal”. We’ve watched over the past 10 months as the Lord has transformed their hearts, minds, and even their bodies (Ethan went from looking like a survivor of a death camp to a plump little Christmas elf in 9 months). We just returned from Los Angeles where our entire family was treated to an all expense paid Disneyland / Universal Studios vacation. THANK YOU to the local LA business that dreamed of, paid for, and facilitated this dream vacation for us (they asked to remain anonymous). It would not have been possible without you! This company even flew our precious Telma from Hawaii (where she is attenting YWAM) out to LA to join us! What an amazing blessing!

When I look at my beautiful bride Renee and our 10 gorgeous kiddos, I am overwhelmed by how blessed I am. I am a rich man, and this wealth can’t be stolen or lost or destroyed. No human system or government or disaster can take my wealth, and there is nothing that anyone could offer me that could cause me to give up this wonderful life I have. Thank you Abba Father! You are such a good God!
My wife will be blogging more about our trip this week and you’ll get to experience some of our grand adventure through the pictures she posts as well.

God bless you all!

Derek Loux

Our family at Universal Studios

An Update On Silas

Renee Loux — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:48:47 +0000

Our happy little Fire Chief!

Captain "Si"

We love you precious son!

Our little Silas is doing great just 2 weeks after cardiac surgery! He’s healing quickly and growing stronger everyday! He is still on a little heart medication and meds for latent TB, along with a little Motrin for pain now and then, but that’s it! His progress is amazing and we are so thankful for all of you who prayed that Silas would have a speedy recovery! It’s so awesome to have him home!

When Silas was in the hospital we could tell that Sasha was worried about where he’d gone. This happened the last time Silas was in the hospital with pneumonia. Sasha would ask where Silas was. He seemed confused and a little scared. Again, because Sasha was the oldest boy in the orphanage he grew up in, he saw children come and go, some never returning. Some of the children had been adopted out and some had passed away. He didn’t understand what was happening. Sasha’s face lit up when we brought Silas home. He hugged and kissed his brother and did his little happy “Sasha dance.”

It’s still hard not to know the details what our boys have been through, or what’s going on in their little heads and in their heart but, we keep praying that the Lord will bring healing to their spirit and that they will be secure in the fact that whenever any of us walks out the door to go anywhere, we will always return home.

Fun With Horses

Renee Loux — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:13:34 +0000

Sophia lovin on "Old Blue"

MIchaela (KK) getting ready to ride!

Sana was so excited to get to see horses for the first time!

Our twin's brother Jikko, got to ride for the first time too! There aren't any horses in the Marshall Islands.

OOHHHH this is fun!

Leeann nervously getting ready to ride

You can do it Lee!

Sophia

Sana found time for a tractor ride at the farm too!

Teyolla feeding one of the horses

The end of a long day of fun!

Just a short time ago, we took our kiddos to a horse ranch. Several of our adopted children had never ridden horses before. There was no provision for special need’s children to ride at this particular ranch, so Sasha, Ethan and Silas were not able to ride. We are on a waiting list at a ranch that does facilitate riding lessons for special need’s children and are looking forward to the day that they get to experience the beauty of horses!

My brother Terry, his wife Amy and their children Jikko, Jaukon and Tanya were just here visiting from the Marshall Islands. Some of you are aware of the fact that they adopted our twin’s brothers Jikko and Jaukon. When my brother and his family flew back to the islands, they let Jikko stay an extra week with us. We had so much fun with him and we got to take him to this horse ranch too. There are no horses in the Marshall Islands so this was a great experience for all our kids from the islands!

As many of you know, our vision is to rescue, adopt and restore 30 needy and neglected orphans. We are raising funds now through the Josiah Fund site (see the link on this page for detailed information) to purchase 45 acres of land. We will be building a larger home to house all the precious ones we bring in, as well as housing for the staff members who will be helping us. Many of the children we will be adopting will have special needs. We have a vision to restore them through involvement in the International House of Prayer 24/7 worship & prayer environment here in Kansas City, as well as through equestrian therapy, horticultural therapy, and traditional therapeutic programs (PT, OT, Speech).

To see the joy on our children’s faces as they rode these beautiful horses was just priceless! We made some great memories that will last a lifetime!

By the way, Jikko, we know you read our blog and we just want to say we love you, we miss you and we are SO glad that you got to go riding with us on this special day! Love to all of you (our family and friends) there in the Marshall Islands!

Thank You Jesus For All You Are!

Renee Loux — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:11:30 +0000

Precious Sasha

Yummy little Ethan

Our little champion, Silas

The Harvest Patrol

Little loves

Our priceless little blessings

God is good and His love endures forever! As we enter into a season of thanks, I want to declare God’s faithfulness and His love. I stand amazed at all He’s done in so many lives, including our family and I want to say there is truly no God like our God! We love you Jesus and we remember your goodness and your love to each of us! You remain King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We are honored to know you as our Lord and Saviour! Thank you for saving us, for loving us and for being all we need! We are blessed beyond measure!

WOW!!! YOU DID IT!!

Renee Loux — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:45:10 +0000

Thanks so much to all of you who stepped forward to financially bless the Kallinen family by helping to get them home! Yesterday within minutes $1200 came in. Three hours later the total was nearly $3,000. As of this morning, the total giving for the Kallinen adoption has totalled $3932.73, nearly $4,000!!!

We are so thrilled that you have chosen to partner with this precious family in their journey to bring these beautiful girls into their family. After the Kallinens purchase their airline tickets to Florida, the additional money will be used for their travel (by car) from Florida to Kansas City, and to purchase whatever else they still need for their girls.

God bless you and thanks again so much to all of you who gave through Tracie’s blog and through mine! We appreciate you and don’t take your incredible heart for the orphan for granted!

Hugs to you all!

Please Help Bring These Precious Ones Home!

Renee Loux — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:11:01 +0000

Our friends Betty and Brion Kallinen have adopted 3 beautiful girls from Haiti! This precious family is part of the International House of Prayer, here in Kansas City. The adoption of these priceless ones has been a two year process filled with unexpected delays and expenses along the way. The Lord has moved mountains and the girl’s adoptions have finally been completed! They now have their visas and are ready to travel. The only thing hindering their arrival home is money. They have literally spent every penny they had and are $2000 short to purchase plane tickets to get home. If you would like to help, please use the PAY PAL link in my side bar. Please follow that up with an email to me at reneeloux@ihop.org letting me know that your gift is for the “Kallinen Adoption.”

Those of you out there who have already adopted children know how hard the delays and roadblocks can be! This is such an emotional undertaking and to not be able to get home because of money is just not acceptable. Let’s support this beautiful family and raise the money needed today. What a grand celebration Thanksgiving Day could be for them!

Derek and I are honored and humbled to know so many of you, whether in person, or across the miles, through this blog. We are blown away by those of you who have stepped forward in many different ways to walk out James 1:27 with us! Some of you have not been called to adopt, but some of you have been called to help financially with situations like this. We are unashamedly asking for your help! We know that the majority of those of you who give, to help with needs such as this one, are giving sacrificially and that is a beautiful thing in the sight of God! We appreciate you!!

Blessings, hugs and many thanks to you all!

Renee’, Derek and Tribe

Happy Birthday Ethan!!

Renee Loux — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:48:14 +0000

Happy 6th Birthday Ethan!!

You’ve come a long way Baby!!

We love you precious boy!!

Mama helping her boy blow out his candles!

Only one candle left. You can do it Buddy!

Yay!!!

Playing with finger puppets

It's a jungle out there!

Our little zebra girl

Sasha, "King of the jungle!"

Ethan definitely enjoyed his choco birthday cake!

Our beautiful twins!

Pretty jungle girls

Ethan playing with his new puzzle from very special friends (the Malone family, who also adopted from the Ukraine). We love you Malones!! Thanks for blessing Ethan with your love!

Sana lovin on her brother

One of our AMAZING friends named Kristen! She is also one of our Family Support Staff! What a blessing she is to us and to our children!! We love you Kristen!

Another great friend/Family Support Staff Travis is greatly loved by Sasha! He is a blessing to us all and we are so thankful for him and all the sacrificial help he consistently pours out!

This past weekend we celebrated Ethan’s 6th birthday. He had never had a birthday party before and it was a thrill to see him “light up” as the center of attention. This little boy has come SO FAR in the past 9 months. He has grown 10 inches, gained 16 lbs, can sign 6-8 words, can speak 3-5 words, and can follow nearly any verbal command given to him. He has learned to sit up, combat crawl, crawl on all fours, crawl up the stairs, pull himself to a standing position, and walk while holding on to a support. He flew through all the baby food stages, learned to eat any table food, learned to drink from a bottle, now drinks from a cup, learned to feed himself with his hands, learned to use utensils, and now can feed himself with utensils and even wipes his mouth wih a napkin! He’s learned to hug, kiss, laugh, sing, howl like a wolf, and make Donald Duck noises. He imitates nearly anything we do, has bonded emotionally with our family and family support staff, learned to ride a tricycle, and come 2010 he will be running for a Senatorial seat … please vote for him because we believe at this rate, in a few short years he will make a tremendous president! Happy Birthday precious boy who had been discarded, discounted, and rejected. There was One who lives on high who looked down upon your little neglected, malnourished, and fragile frame and saw a champion. He selected us to be the recipients of the great treasure you are … He set you into our family like a jewel set into a crown. We love you! We celebrate the wonder of who you are! We glorify the Lord for the trophy of His grace that you have become!

Silas Is Home!

Renee Loux — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:06:42 +0000

I'm ready to go home!!

"Mommy's Touchdown Cutie", getting stronger every day!

Daddy and his special boy

"The Three Musketeers" back together again!

I'm so glad your home! I missed you "Si!"

We love you "Si!"

Getting ready for a fun sword fight

You are my sunshine!

It's so great to be home in my own bed! Nighty night everyone! Thanks for loving me and for praying for me! XOXOXOX

Silas woke up in his hospital room Friday morning and engulfed a bowl of oatmeal (his appetite is back)! He had no drainage coming out of his chest into his chest tube so that was removed. His saturation levels were great and his doctors felt like he was doing so well that they decided he could be released early! He had major cardiac surgery on Monday and was released 4 and 1/2 days later. We attribute that miracle to all the prayers that were going up for Silas!

Silas is still a bit weak. He can’t stand up yet without feeling a little dizzy, but he is SO happy to be home! All his brothers and sisters were so excited to see him. What a surprise to have him home so quickly. Thanks again to all of you who have been praying for him. Your prayers made a huge difference in his little body! Blessings and hugs!

Happy Birthday Sasha!!

Renee Loux — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:57:22 +0000

Happy Birthday Sasha!

Proud Mama and Papa

Happy Birthday to you... let the celebration begin!!!!

Sasha's two princess cousins (Elia and Emma) celebrating his precious life!

Sasha partying with his new little buddy named Brett Menna.

We love you Sash!

Party on Firemen!

Cousin Aiden especially loved Sasha's choco cake!!! What a cutie pie! Don't you just want to eat him up?

This is Sasha's special buddy named Peter celebrating with him. He is one of our family support staff and Sasha loves him so much! Sophia (on the right) had so much fun all evening watching her brother being so happy during his big celebration!

Sasha reading his cards with some help from Daddy

Having fun opening presents!

Sana having fun celebrating her brother!

This week has been filled with many big events! Sasha’s 7th birthday was one of those big events and it took place on Wednesday! We had a big party for him. Lots of friends and family came to help celebrate his life. This was also the first birthday party Sasha has ever had. Birthdays were not celebrated at the orphanage our boys came from. It was quite an emotional night for us. We kept looking at Sasha, thinking about what life would have been like for him on this day, had the Lord not orchestrated everything leading up to his adoption. It is sobering to think about. The Lord is amazing!

Sasha is such a beautiful young boy. He is a deep thinker and very sensitive to all that goes on around him. He loves to be loved and held. He had so much fun on his big night. When he was carried into the room where his celebration took place, he looked at all the balloons and decorations and his face lit up like a Christmas tree! He started doing the little “Sasha dance” that he does when he gets excited. It was so precious! We had so much fun watching his repsonses to us singing “Happy Birthday” to him, watching him open his presents and cards and dancing and singing to his favorite songs! What a great night it was!

There are so many people that say, “Sasha is so lucky to have parents like you all, ones who love him the way you do.” I understand that they are trying to encourage us and tell us we’re doing a good job and we so appreciate the encouragement. I just want to say that WE are blessed beyond belief to have this little angel in our lives. He has brought us so much joy and is truly an inspiration to us all of what a tender spirit like his can endure and then overcome. When Sasha first came to us, he had so much fear and anger in his little life. He hated the dark, even with a night light on. He would scratch us, pull our hair, sometimes even bite us. After lots of love and stability, he is learning that he is safe and treasured and the beauty of his life is beginning to shine….brightly!

Thanks Sasha, for the privledge of being your Mommy and Daddy. You bring us so much joy sweet boy! We will continue praying for your healing and trusting Jesus to heal any places in your heart that are still confused and hurting. You are priceless and we love you so much!

Thank you Jesus for the many blessings you have poured out on us all! We are speechless because of your kindness, your faithfulness and your incredible love!