About Me

How did we come up with this name? Well we have always given our children nicknames and ended them with "Bear". We have Missa-Bear, 13, Nikko Bear, 11, Charlie-Bear 9, Ellie-Bear, 8, Necie-Bear, 6, Andrey-Bear or Stevie-Bear, 5 and Annie-Bear. We had one older bear, Stephie-Bear, but alas she has left her original den and married and she and her husband now have a little cub, Patrick. We live in the South - though not the deep south. We love the Lord with all our hearts, strength and mind and hope that we will bless others with our blog. Mama Bear.

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Ten Bears Minus 1
Aug. 11, 2008
Charly Bear July 2008 - on family trip out West


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Aug. 11, 2008
Charly Bear - 6


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Aug. 11, 2008
Charly Bear 6



Once I had a friend tell me that Charly's pictures always look different - and it is true.  This picture was taken at the same time as the tea party and it looks very different!

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Aug. 11, 2008
Teddy Bear Tea Party - 6 years old - May 2005


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Aug. 11, 2008
Puppy Love - Sarge and Charly Bear (Sarge was just a pup) - 2001


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Aug. 11, 2008
Charly Bear - Fun in the Sun - Hawaii - 2001


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Aug. 11, 2008
Necie Bear and Charlie Bear at the Beach - Charlie is 3, Necie about 9 months


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Aug. 11, 2008
Some more on Charly

When Charly came she had very few teeth and major dental issues due to neglect.  In all of her pictures until this last year you will see she always smiled with a closed mouth.  When her teeth started coming in the last year or two we saw an amazing transformation. 

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Aug. 11, 2008
Charly Bear - 2001 - 3 years old


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Aug. 11, 2008
Charly Bear - 10 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY


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Aug. 11, 2008
The Story of Our Third Oldest daughter - Introducing Charly Bear

Charly Bear came to us with her younger bio sister through the foster care system.  Charly Bear and Necie Bear were our foster children for three years before the state finalized their adoption.  In the Summer of 2005 we received an all expense paid trip to Hawaii to attend court to make them part of our Bear Family.  Charly Bear was 3-years old at the time of her placement and was six when we finalized her adoption.  The day Charly came to us we will never forget.  She walked slowly down our stairs in the front yard and was so quiet and scared.  She attached to our our wonderful Collie, Beauty and they were the best of friends until Beauty died.  Charly started public school while in our care but we finally decided when we moved back to the Mainland that it was best to have Charly join our homeschool ranks.  She felt very sad to be the only one in the public school (she cried every single day in Hawaii when we dropped her off for school - she would never say why but the tears would always come).  Our social worker convinced us we should be homeschooling her as well so she did not feel different - and right she was. 

Our Charly Bear was baptized this last spring by Papa Bear.  Our pastor asked Papa if he would like to do the honor and Papa answered with a resounding "yes".  This was a glorious day for as some know, we have had our struggles  - our little Charly grieved (and likely still grieves) her past.  Though the sadness seems to be less and less each day as her hope is in Christ - she has accepted the family who loves her very much.  She also understands her bio family loves her as well.  She has accepted where God has placed her and is now content.  She works each day diligently around our house (she is a neatnik); she serves and often is the one who thinks first of others.  She loves her little Andrey Bear, Annie Bear and her "wonder Twin" Ellie Bear.  Ellie and Charly are often seen skipping in matching dresses either here on the farm or out in the public where people ask if they are "twins" - to which Charly giggles "well sorta" . . . .Our Charly Bear has the most beautiful smile ever seen.  You may notice she is actually Hawaiian, Filipino and Chinese (though the Chinese is not prominent in her features - The Filipino shows more - she actually looks like Stephie Bear!  It is neat how God works in adoptions. 

We absolutely adore our Charly Bear and we just cannot EVEN imagine where life without her would be.  We are blessed beyond measure.

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Aug. 10, 2008
HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY CHARLY-BEAR

In the midst of our trip we celebrated Charly Bear's birthday.  I am sorry I did not post much sooner but hey we have been in the travelin' circus!

ENJOY!

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Jun. 14, 2008
JUNE 14TH HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY NIKKO BEAR

The day we met Nikita Andreyev was the day we arrived at the Children's Home in Ulyanovsk, Russia.  Ulyanovsk is the town where Lenin was from and it is about 500 miles from the Chechnyan border.  We arrived and they brought him to us to the music room.  He loved the piano.  Papa Bear plays the piano and that is how they bonded - over the piano.  One of the memories was Nikita getting into the orphanage van and telling the driver to "Go, mama and papa were here to take him to America!" - we all chuckled.  He was a very cute curly topped, very small child.  We arrived on the day of this 4th birthday.  This was a very new experience for us as he would be our first boy after having our two older girls, the youngest of course with special needs (Missa).  We were really unprepared for the energy of a small boy but now it is nothing! 

Over the years there have been lots of laughs, and frankly speaking, lots of tears.  We have had to learn now to do deal with the fact this child was abandoned his first four years of his life.  We have no baby pictures.  The pictures here are the very first pictures we ever received and he was probably about two in these pictures.  He was considered "unadoptable" because his ears stuck out.  The funny thing is we thought they were about the cutest thing we ever saw and now that he is older he has even grown into his ears. 

When he arrived in America (at the time we lived in Hawaii) he was embraced by both sisters.  They absolutely adored him and still do.  We all do.  This is our oldest son.  Last night Missa wrote him a very heartfelt letter about the love she feels for him. 

It is our prayer that Nikko Bear will come to love the Lord with all his heart, soul and mind.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SON!


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Jun. 14, 2008
Bear Cubs - Chancelorsville, VA (Last year's expedition) - 2007


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Jun. 14, 2008
NIck and Papa Bear Hiking at Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee - 2006


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Jun. 14, 2008
Family PIcture upon leaving Hawaii in 2003 - just hours before boarding our plane to Salt Lake CIty, UT Final destination Idaho Falls, ID - December 2003 - BLIZZARD IN SLC!


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Jun. 14, 2008
Handsome 2004


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Jun. 14, 2008
Great Picture of Nick


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Jun. 14, 2008
Our First Photo of Nick in which Papa Bear exclaimed, "this is our son!"


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Jun. 14, 2008
Nick in the room where he slept in the orphanage - see how tiny the beds were?


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