Streater Family

We Love the Beach

2011-07-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

As the years go by the children change and grow and God continues to amaze us with His beauty of the ocean and beach. The kids all thrive with sunshine and excersize, good food and family fellowship and memory making. We are so blessed to have grandparents that take ALL of us to the beach. Thanks Ken & Joy.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year celebrated the 90th Birthday of my grandmother. What a blessing to have such a wonderful matriarch in the family. We hosted several parties and enjoyed praising and worshiping the birth of our Savior on Christmas Eve at the Gwinnett Arena.

Life is Good

2011-01-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

With the amount of time that has passed since my last blog I cant believe I'm even attempting to continue but life does go on and we must persevere :) To update our status, our four youngest ones finalized their adoption March 2010. I know I have pictures somewhere but have had to get a new computer so I think the pics are on the old one. uggg. The event was BEAUTIFUL and many tears of joy were shared.
Everyone is growing physically and spiritually and are settling into their lives as Streater's. All of us have all grown so much. The past three years have been hard but well worth the trip. I praise God every time I see my children interact with each other and reach out to fellowship with each other. Finding each child's gifts and talents is so beautiful and I feel so blessed to be the one to enjoy them.
At this time, Burt and I are now praying for God to lead us in which direction He has for us to add to our family again. We have found several doors shut through the foster system and see God stretching us to learn about other ways. We'll let you know.
Thanks for listening.

We're Still Here

2010-10-20T17:13:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how time has flown. Our family has changed in so many ways and is still stretching and growing. We've learned so much and realize we have more to go. The children have grown physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. We've celebrated birthdays, broken bones, lost teeth and new hopes and dreams. We look back and can't believe where we came from and were we are now. I look forward to were God will take us. Below are some captions of our time together.

The BEST of Gabriel

2009-04-26T14:50:00.001-07:00

Gabriel Burton Streater

age: 9

The BEST of Jayson

2009-04-25T10:44:00.001-07:00

Jayson Kenneth Streater

age: 8

The BEST of Alyssa

2009-04-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

Alyssa Anne Streater

age: 6

The BEST of Perry

2009-04-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

Perry Tasker Streater

age: 4

Spring 2009

2009-04-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

(These pictures are suppose to be in order but I don't know how to move them around so it's messed up. Sorry. You'll just have to use your imagination.)

Cheerleading has been apart of the big girls and my life for the past 5 years. Three years ago the girls and I started a Christian All Star squad called Galaxy All Stars. It has been such great fun and a tremendous experience for all of us. All the different squads have been such a blessing and I've enjoyed seeing my girls skills develop and improve. I guess we'll keep doing this until God says stop. I keep listening for that small voice to say it's time to quit but it never comes. Oh well.

EASTER:

Easter was beautiful and enjoyed by all. The children did an egg hunt at Aunt Mary Lynn's and Uncle Steve's house. The children had so many eggs to find that it averaged out to be about 27 each. Needless to say their baskets were full. It's so fun and a privilege to see the little ones learn so much about our Savior and Christianity. I see His mercy and grace every day with our family. We are truly blessed.

"They really are a splendid crew." That's a line from one of our favorite books called the Seven Silly Eaters. God placed that book on my heart years ago when Victoria was in Kindergarten. Little did I know that that is what we would really become.

Other Family Times

2009-04-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Disney. We had planned to do this as our Adoption Celebration. That has not happened yet so we went ahead and did it anyway. We told the 4 little ones we were going to another Adoption family camp in Florida. As soon as we got to the Disney gate we said "Oh no, Daddy made a wrong turn. We're at Disney! Should we stay?" They all screamed YES!!! So they were thoroughly excited and surprised to say the least. We did Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Blizzard Beach water park. The weather was great and we couldnt have planned it better. What great memories were made.

The children all did fantastic. We went none stop to get our "monies worth". We must have slept a week after we got back.

Alyssa being a Princess
My Three Amigos

Pirate Boys

Our Family at Disney

Down Town Disney

Hi, We're Still Here

2009-04-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged in some time. I think its been 4 months. Needless to say I can't seem to find the time. But I'm here now and that's all that counts. Were did I leave off? Lets start with Christmas, which was great! We all were so blessed and of course Burt and I did too much for the kids. I keep saying we will only give 3 gifts like Jesus got but it never seems to work out that way. Maybe next year. I also did something different in the wrapping department this year. Since our Christmas starts a week early with Burt's side of the family I seem to have been caught off gaurd with haveing everything if anything wrapped so this year I had a GREAT idea. I used black trash bags with big red bows. It worked out fantastic. The bags were then used to pick up other trash later. I think I'll patten the idea.

Time Passes by So Quickly

2008-11-18T22:36:00.000-08:00

Adoption Family Camp

Girls at the Clemson Football Game with Audrey

First Trick or Treat

My Three Amigos

Gabriels 9th Birthday at the Yellow River Game Ranch

All Is Well

2008-10-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

OK! I know it has been waaaaaay to long since I've posted but I'm a little busy. A good kind of busy. The children are growing, changing and healing. They are learning about God, baseball and the violin. I'm so proud of them all and feel soooooo blessed. I just had by 42nd Birthday and thought to myself, "my life is great, no regrets". I've started an Adoption Support Group at our church and had a great first turn out. We will meet again next month. I cant wait to see what God has in store for it.
Our adoption is not finalized yet and we have some "glitches" with the system but are working them out and will hopefully get the green light to proceed forward. I'd love to finalize before Christmas.

Are We There Yet?

2008-06-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

This is this question we heard on our 7 hour drive to the beach. Burt and I had a great time keeping score of who asked the most times. We didn't tell the children so we thoroughly enjoyed our little game. This was our annual family beach trip and the children did fantastic. They all had a wonderful time and enjoyed the ocean tremendously. I was proud of them all. Our family is growing every day and I look forward to what God has in store for each and every one of them. I am truly blessed with my 7 children....... so far (hee hee).

Homecoming Party

2008-04-14T20:56:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday 7 dear friends hosted a Homecoming Party for our new family. We were overjoyed at the outpouring of love, well wishes, prayers, praises and the generosity of so many friends and family. The kids did Fantastic and were so excited to be going to "their" party. There were over 100 people there and the food and fellowship was outstanding not to mention the decorations, crafts for the kids, pictures of all who came and so much more. From the bottom of our hearts we thank each and every one for lifting our family up during this very exciting time in our lives.

School Picture Day

2008-04-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not writing more often but that's just the way it is. I don't do my e-mails as much or talk on the phone as much or clean the house as much but .... that's OK. I'm doing other things. Like raising a large family. It still hasn't dawned on me that I'm the only one I know with 7 children. I hope to meet another large family in my lifetime. They are few and far between.

We decided to have our school pictures taken today so we went to Stone Mountain park. How many kids can say they have their picture day there? Homeschooling has it's perks!

Things are going well as we are all learning to get along and become a "Big Fat Happy Family". We've gotten the "buddy system" down when going places and have even had the manager at a grocery store give me a dozen roses because she was shocked that 7 children could go through the store and not be heard. Little did she know that I gave them the "mean mommy" speech in the parking lot just seconds earlier. It worked and we were a blessing to others. Life is different but just as special and we still covet all your prayers.

Adoption is Greater than the Universe

2008-03-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgNXQ2CazUg
The heart and soul and origan of adoption.
May you be blessed by this video.

We're Home!!!

2008-02-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, we've made it back with our new family and we've been home a week. I went out to WA Sunday February 10th and Burt and the girls joined me on Wed. the 13th. What a wonderful Valentine's Day we'll never forget. I took us 3 planes to bet back but the kids did fantastic. We looked like little ducks all in a row following Burt in the different airports. Sorry its taken so long to write but time sure flies when you're having fun. The children are settling in and learning a lot, as we all are. I want to thank many wonderful friends and family members who have helped in so many ways. The house decorating, food, clothes, goodies & gifts, words of encouragement and taking the big girls to different activities has all been a wonderful blessing. I just pray that I've expressed how truly grateful I am to each and everyone. Several friends are planning a "Homecoming Party" for everyone to meet and greet the new children on Sunday April 6th. Details to follow later. We hope to see many of you there. Burt and I thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

We're Going to Pick Up our Kids

2008-02-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

The time has come for us to add to our family. God has been by our sides this whole way. At times I know we didnt realize that but looking back we can see it now. I'm leaving this Sunday 10th and will be back Mon.18th with our new precious children. Burt will be joining me with the girls on Wed. Please pray that everyone does well both physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritual. My prayer is that all my children's hearts will have peace and security. That they will not be afraid and that God will turn their hearts towards us. I've shared this with many of you but I am still in awe that out of the millions of children in the world God has chosen these children to be apart of our family. As with our bio children, He picked them and only them for us. WOW, I feel so honored and humbled. The journey that started 3 years ago has come to pass. We had no idea in the beginning that this is where God wanted us. Thank you all for your constant prayers and support. We are truely blessed.

We've been Approved !!!

2008-01-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's finally here. We have been officially approved to adopt our children. Hallelujah!! The state of GA sent the ICPC package back to WA last Tue. 22nd to state that they approved our adoption but did not let our social worker know until Mon. 28th. I have no idea why. Anyway, we met with her on Tue. to read through a lot of papers and then we called the children to tell them. They are really excited. I'm floored. Even little Perry understands and said "I go with you?" I said, "YES".
We are waiting at this time to hear back from the kids social worker to find out what they expect with regards to our visit and then we will make our plans. My prayer is that it will be Valentine week. We'll see. Thanks to so many of you who have been so supportive.

Pray for those in GREAT need

2008-01-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a great adoption story about a US soldier who adopted a disabled Iraqi orphan, and his passion to continue to rescue those who have been left for dead: The images are graphic.
http://wcco.com/local/soldier.adoption.Wisconsin.2.616112.html

I Just Visited the Children

2008-01-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

These pictures are not in the right order.
So sorry I have no idea how to do this.

Gabriel and his guitar. He's very proud of it and wants to bring it on the plane.

Alyssa being a Princess in my coat.

Perry and I had just put his picture book together of our first visit. I gave him Thomas the Train stickers to add to his book. He's very proud of the front.

The boys out sledding at their foster home. Perry squeals with delight.
Outside with the boys.

Alyssa showing her monkeys she got at Christmas.
Meeting the children for the first time. They are giving me little gifts.
Reading Perry a book.
Feeding Perry and Alyssa Smarty candies.
A group picture at our first visit.
The car I drove all over town.

Yes its hard to believe but I just got back last night after visiting the children in Washington. It all started out after I learned of a lady named Nancy Thomas who specializes in adopted children and I ordered some of her books. While on her web site I noticed her seminars and noticed that she was going to be in the same town as the children. Burt and I thought, wouldn't that be funny if we were there the same time as her seminar. Well we weren't but with things going so slowly Burt said I should go and see the children at the same time. We asked the social worker if that was doable and she said yes. Because of some very special friends who gave us Buddy passes I was able to go at the drop of a hat. (Thanks guys, you're the best). It took me 3 planes to get out there and 2 to get back. I left on Wed. and got back on Sun. What an experience. I couldn't have orchestrated it better myself. God was in control and took care of me the whole way. I got to see the children for 2 hours on Thur. at their group visit and then on Fri. I visited the boys at their foster home and on Sat. visited Alyssa at hers. I met some fantastic people at the conference and had lots of kisses and hugs from the children. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. We are truely blessed.

We Need Your Prayers

2008-01-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

Oh the challenges and injustices I feel right now.

We got a call yesterday from our Social Worker stating that she had received our ICPC packet last Thur. from James Graves and just opened it yesterday. This is after we had called her 3 times last week. She said that they had sent a 6 inch packet of papers that she wouldn't be able to go through until next week. She also stated that they were asking for items she had gathered this summer. This goes to show that our US system needs help!!! There are children who will never get adopted because of this bureaucracy. I know that for a fact form the differnt adoption loops I am on. There are children that will grow up in the system and never have a place to call home or people to call their family. God created, The Family. It is not good for children not to have parents. A Mommy and Daddy to love them. The more I read the more I learn that children can not grow to their fullest potential spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally without parents... without a family. They most likely end up back in the system whether incarcerated or in the Welfare system and repeat the cycle. Pray that the bureaucratic red tape of our system does not continue to keep families hostages. Pray that our social worker can focus on this case. Pray for the children's emotional state. They are all having a hard time waiting. Jayson said he saw an airplane the other day and thought it was us. Alyssa said on Christmas day that she was meeting her new family the next day because she took it literally that it was most likely we would be there after Christmas. We will be sending them a video of us now and Burt and I are in prayer weather I should go in the next week to visit with the children. We want to be in Gods will. Thank you for your prayers.

Why We are Called

2008-01-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Why adopt?......"Don't you have 3 children already???" "Are you crazy?" Well, let me start first by saying......"No, we're not crazy!" We are very content as a family of 5 but feel that God is leading us to open up our hearts and our home to more "little ones" who need a home, love, security and a family to call their own. We have been truly blessed and are being led to share those blessings with other in need. The Old Testament has many scriptures that show God’s concern and compassion for orphans. Adoption is the most loving and permanent way to care for these little ones. Psalm 68:5-6a says about God, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families...” " We are called by God to look after widows and orphans in their time of distress." (James 1:27) When we adopt we demonstrate LOVE to the watching world. We can show love, not in words, but in actions. Adoption is sometimes expensive and definatley exhausting. It is inconvenient! Plus, it lasts a lifetime! Why would we do this? Very simple: “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). I am reminded of a story I've heard....
A man was once walking on the beach and saw a boy picking things up and throwing them into the ocean. As he got closer, he noticed the boy was throwing starfish back into the sea one by one. There were hundreds of starfish surrounding him, and looking up the coast there were infinite more starfish on the shore. The man asked, "What are you doing?" "Helping the starfish," he responded. "But there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of starfish that have been washed ashore along the coastline. You can't really believe that by throwing back a few hundred starfish in the ocean, that you're really going to make a substantial difference, do you?" The boy turned to the man and said nothing. He then picked up another starfish and hurled it into the sea as far as he could. He then looked in the mans eyes and said, "Made a difference to that one…"
"Why adopt?" I guess for us, we feel that it is what we have been called to do. We are being led to share what God has blessed our family with and yet I know in my heart that we will end up being the ones blessed most of all, by the presence of these precious little lives that God has entrusted to us.
I just wanted to share this with you.
May your New Year be filled with love and hope.

Our ICPC

2007-12-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

We are so happy to say that our ICPC = Interstate Contract, has been sent to Georgia!!!
Now this doesn't mean that James Graves, the ICPC person in Ga, has read it or is even in town but the good news is that we have done everything to get it done and here. Our prayers are that it satisfies GA and that we are approved. If it goes through then we are off to Washington!!!! yippeeeeee.

God's Love

2007-12-26T14:48:00.000-08:00

Below is a blog from a family who has adopted 5 children from Liberia and has 5 bios. I wanted to share what she has written.....

Solomon wrote Brad and I a note that read, "Dear Dad and Mom, God never showed me this before, but I see that I am a new creation in Christ and the old things are passed away. So from now on I have a new name. I am calling myself Jedidiah and you can call me that now. Love, Jedidiah. (I took the liberty of correcting the spelling errors here, otherwise it may be indecipherable to those not familiar with children's phonetic spelling)I then thought about the new name we have been given in Christ when we were adopted in love. That name is "accepted and chosen." I was doing the Beth Moore bible study on the fruit of the Spirit and learned that in Isaiah 53:3 when it describes Christ as "rejected by men" part of that word "rejected" means "vacant." I remember when we first brought Adriana home from Liberia that is the word that described the look in her eyes: vacant. Abandonded, leaving an empty space that longed to be filled. Even as a baby that spirit of rejection was on her, and she was badly in need of the spirit of adoption. She is now a laughing, smiling, much less fearful little toddler who makes eye contact glory to GOD! Does that mean she (or any of us) is 100% free of rejection and totally embraces what it means to be chosen in love and adopted into the family of God? Doubtful. There is something of our old nature that tilts toward the negative and finds it easier to dwell on the rejection of others rather than embrace our new status as "chosen and accepted" in our Beloved Jesus. But my prayer for all my children is that whatever rejection they experience from others will only drive them closer to the unfailing love of the Father, who sent His Son for them. Jesus Christ knows what it is to be rejected by His own, but He was chosen by God to reconcile us to Himself, to make us a chosen people where before we were orphans and foreigners but now we are members of God's household with full rights as sons and daughters of the most High God.There is a book out in the adoption world called "When Love is Not Enough" about parenting children with what is called "Reactive Attachment Disorder." And it's true, as any parent of any prodigal child whether adopted or not will tell you, that our love for our children is not enough to change their hearts and heal all their hurts. But we don't love because we are trying to fix people, we love because God commands us to. Even if we don't see the results of our love in the natural, God promises that love never fails, He won't waste our love and there are eternal realities going on that are more real than what we can see with our eyes. It's like how I used to get disillusioned with homeschooling because it wasn't producing the perfect children I had hoped. Why go through all this trouble and hard work I thought, if there were no guarantees? Sweet Brad was the one who reminded me, "We are doing this because God told us to Jenny, it's an obedience issue." Just like we love because it is Who God is, and we want to be like our Father. We risk our hearts every time we choose to love, because others might reject it. It tends to be missionary-like zeal that propels many to adopt and those "fire and earthquake" moments at the beginning are all about the initial rescue. But once the dust settles you realize in the still small gentle Voice that there is a lot more to this rescue than "saving a life." It's a long and hard process of breaking off rejection and receiving the spirit of adoption. Some days I feel like Hosea when God told him to go marry a prostitute because it was going to be a picture of God's burning love to have a relationship with His unfaithful people. I've seen in my family and many others how parenting abandoned children is a picture of God's Father-love as He parents His hurt and rejected children. The levels of broken trust we have experienced along life's journey tends to dictate how much we struggle with false illusions of control, lack of trust in our Provider and Protector, and our struggle with really letting down our carefully constructed defense mechanisms to receive the outpour of love that is available to us at any moment. Father, teach us to all embrace the name "Jedidiah" which means loved by the LORD. Your Son knew full well what it was to be rejected by men, but He knew Who He was, Your beloved Son in whom You were well pleased. Thank you for the spirit of adoption and the truth that we are never alone and You will never, ever leave us. Make us secure, firmly attached to our Abba Father, able to trust and to love because You are trustworthy and have first loved us with an unfailing love. Love, Jenny

Photo Shoot of the Girls

2007-12-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

I also wanted to add these photos of the girls who are doing wonderfully with their music.

Great News

2007-12-12T22:18:00.000-08:00

We have news in the sense that our papers have FINALLY been sent to the ICPC office in Washington. That is great progress and means that all the papers have been gathered and there is no more waiting on that. We expect that it should take a day or so for WA's ICPC office to send our papers on to Ga's ICPC office and then wait to see what they say. Please pray that they see everything favorably. Also continue praying for the childrens hearts.

Still Waiting

2007-12-07T21:48:00.000-08:00

Just an update to let you all know that we are still waiting for paper work to get to who it needs to get to. You have no idea what goes on with adoption through the foster system, or lack there of. Let me just say that if they were a private company there would be many law suits and companies going out of business. Pray that those involved would be touched by the Holy Spirit to "focus" and know what needs to be done and DO IT! Pray for the beginning of January for us to travel to go get our children. Also thanks to all who have posted messages, it means so much to us. Please pray for the childrens' stress levels. This is all very hard on them.

Check this out!

2007-11-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.thebodiebunch.blogspot.com/
I just wanted to share this blog with your.
Enjoy

Girls Science Fair Projects

2007-11-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Victoria's Science Fair Project- 3rd Place

Katherine's Science Fair Project - 1st Place

Elizabeth's Science Fair Project - 1st Place

Kids Photo Books

2007-11-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

Here is another picture. I'm trying to see if I can get it to be bigger. I wont know until after I publish it. Oh to have someone do this right. Anyway, these are the children's "photo books" we sent them introducing ourselves. They were about 45 pages long. We had a picture of each room in the house, each pet, every family member, coming down our street, the exterior of the house, things we did as a family and things around our area, parks, pools etc. When we talk to the children they ask us questions about the pictures and we tell them about what they are looking at. The children are in separate foster homes (except Gabriel and Jayson are together) so we've gotten to know their foster moms very well. Their names are Ruth, Alice and Wendy

(I share their names so that you can pray for them specifically). They have been a God sent for me and the children. They have given them a stable christian environment for over a year and have cared for them greatly.

Here they are

2007-11-10T19:38:00.001-08:00

Obviously I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this blog because the pictures are from youngest to oldest and they are stair step but we'll just go with it. From left to right.... Perry is turning 3 this month. Alyssa just turned 5 in Aug. Jayson will be 7 in Dec. Gabriel just turned 8 in Sept. and Sammy turned 11 in April.

Pictures

2007-11-10T19:33:00.001-08:00

A special friend requested better and bigger pictures of the children. Also I'll give you their names and ages so you all can pray for them specifically. Thanks for asking Mrs. K. Hope you enjoy.

Paper Work Denied

2007-10-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

This title sounds harsh but is not inevitable. Yes, on Oct. 8th we got a call from out social worker stating that the State of GA denied the paper work for the adoption of our children. At that moment I was devastated. But with many phone calls and clarifications we know that our homestudy did not reflect the matching of us to these children. Our social worker is now in the process of ammending it. The State of Washington also has to redo stuff and we too have to redo some papers because on Oct. 11 some of our homestudy expired. Soooo for the last couple of weeks we have been working diligently on all this. A blessing we found is that our papers made it through GA in record time. We just have to do it again!! We feel that there is a reason Burt and I have to learn about domestic adoption between states. God has a plan and we are to trust in Him in all things. Even this. On a brighter note we are talking to the children and developing a relationship with them on the phone. Also I am sending soft fleece blankets to each of them so that they can start snuggling with their new blankies before they bring them back home. This is for familiarity and security.
Also many of you may already know that Sammy will not be coming with us at this time. He is still working on many issues and needs the support of a well trained staff. Also the State of GA will not let him relocate until he reaches some goals. Please keep him in your prayers.

We've Talked to the Kids

2007-10-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
We've just had the most incredible weekend. We have spoken with the foster moms and with Alyssa, Gabriel and Jayson. They were absolutely precious. Their hearts are so ready to accept us and they can't wait to get here. Alyssa asked me if she could sit next to me when she gets here. They all call us mom and dad and say they love us. What an incredible gift they could give to us. Gabriel cant believe he will have 3 big sisters and asked Burt if he could help him finish the club house. Jayson said he loves everything we do in the "picture book" (which they all got). They all have great verbal skills and are not shy. We still have no idea when they will be able to come. Keep our paper work in your prayers that it may move quickly a swiftly through the different channels that be.

Welcome to Leap of Faith

2007-09-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Welcome to the new Streater Family blog. We are so exited to finally learn how to do this. We think. We hope you find it helpful, exciting and connecting to us while we embark on the mission of a lifetime. We decided to do a blog to have you all, our friends and family, be a part of this exciting calling of Adoption. You are invited to come join us on this journey.