Two years ago today!

Two years ago today, we came home from Ukraine with two new members of our family. It has certainly been a journey for all of us. Learning how to speak and write english. Being in a family that really loves them. Getting a lot of new friends at school and church. Taking up new interests like, skiing, sledding, water skiing, jet skiing, wake boarding, piano, break dance, soccer (of course), biking, driving, chores, getting good grades in school; which is the last thing on their list of liking to do! It's been an emotional roller coaster these past few years. We have learned a lot about ourselves, and what we are capable of. Mostly we learned how to be a lot more patient and to love unconditionally. I just look at them sometimes, and it amazes me that they haven't been with us all of their lives.

Team Ukraine 1st video

Okay, I was able to upload this video. It is really small however, so you can't really tell which boy is which very well. You can get a good indication of how they are all playing though. Get your readers on, and have a look see!

Kick It!

Team Ukraine is back, in full force! The boys were all so excited to be playing together again. They are so fun to watch. They haven't had one practice, but they know each other so well, that it didn't matter. They played great for not being practiced. They played a team that Andrew Garrett is a member of in the spring. Every time Andrew scored, the fans of the other team kept saying "It just isn't fair!" It was funny, and light hearted. We tied 4 to 4. Not bad for our first game! GO TEAM UKRAINE!!!

I will try and load the video, but I think it will be too big. It's just ov

er six minutes long. I have uploaded it to youtube, but they took out the audio, due to infringement issues. It is not as fun to view that way. I don't mean to break any laws, it's just more fun to watch with a great song. I didn't think it was even that popular!?!

Grateful!

I just wanted to send out a gratitude post to all of you. Your love and concern through e-mails and comments, have been so greatly appreciated. I really don't think I would have come through this as well as I did without it. I have always said that I have met some of the best people through SAC, and it becomes more apparent as time goes on. You are amazing people, for what you have taken on in your lives. I hope you know the effect you have on the people around you. I feel truly privileged to know you.

Thanksgiving was great. We were all able to sit down at the same table, and share what we are most grateful for. Family was at the top of everyone's list. We took some fun pictures, that I have posted on my facebook. I have posted a few here, for those who are not on facebook.

Oh, and if I don't write until after the holidays, I have a message for all who celebrate the birth of Christ. A Merry Christmas to you, and happy holiday's to everyone else.

Sasha had his 15th birthday at Classic Skate. He had a great time!

The Currant Bush

I know, I said last week that I would update, but things got a little crazy again. It is 12:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. I thought it would be a good time to write, and not waste anymore time trying to fall asleep. I have been having a difficult time trying to write about this experience. Every time I tried something would come up, or I just couldn't find the right words.

Hopefully it will make some sense.

As you know, we hosted a boy from Ukraine. He is 11 and so very cute. My boys have been a handful, and basically I was insane for even thinking I could host again. Families were dropping out at the last minute, and the funding wasn't there to take all of the kids that Nanette wanted to bring over. He was one of the kids that had to be cut. Kent didn't think it was a good idea for us to host, and either did anyone in my family. Still, I felt like I needed to host him.

As last minute funding came through, and he was put back on the list, I felt like he was meant to come to America and have a chance at a real family. I agreed to host him, with a feeling that we were going to find him a family.

Of course, when he got here, he got along great with the boys, and he was a lot of fun to have around. We never got an overwhelming feeling that he was ours though, and by the end of the hosting program I was in full panic mode. There were other families that were interested in him, but they didn't seem right to me, and I couldn't let him go.

Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us, and he had a definite plan for this boy. A family came along at the last minute, that I felt was the right family for him. I was attached to him, but all along I felt numb to my feelings for him so that I could let him go. In just a day, they fell in love with him and wanted him.

It was a hard day at the airport saying good-bye. He ran up to me and hugged me so tight. We took a picture and he started to cry, which in turn made me start to cry. We just sat there for a minute, hugging and crying. I had to let him go and all the numbness I had felt during the week wore off. I was at a complete loss to my real feelings and what I knew I needed to do. I just promised him that everything would be all right, and that so many people fell in love with him. That he was such a lucky boy, and was going to have a really great family someday soon.

It was one of the most heart wrenching things I have ever had to do. I cried off and on, for under a week after he left. I do know that we have experiences in our lives for a reason. That they are for our growth, even though it hurts like hell. {Sorry, but it did} I'm so grateful for being able to be his mom for two and half weeks, and for all of my kids to have a little brother. I think we all learned a lot from this experience.

I didn't want to list his name and go into great detail about those weeks. I did want to share these pictures, however. It took me awhile before I could even look at them. Now, I feel like I can just confront my feelings head on, and that makes me stronger.

Nanette, how do you do this every year?

As time goes by.....

Hello one and all. It has been about 5 months since I last posted. Yes, it has been very busy, and I found myself taking on more then I should have. However, it is stuff that I would do again, just for the rewards that they have brought. I will try and do little updates as the week goes on. it is just too much information for one entry.

First the boys have been doing great. Summer was pretty busy for them with tutoring, just making sure that they were retaining everything they learned from the last school year. They have made a lot of friends and are for the most part happy boys. (Well, as far as teenage boys can be!)

Save a Child Foundation just had their Hosting Program this past 2 1/2 weeks. It was very successful, and I think most every family had an amazing experience. This is all I can report right now. I still need time to gather my thoughts, as I had a very overwhelming experience both good and bad. The Boys were great at translating, and didn't complain too much when they had to do it.

My girls are doing well. Lauren is at UVU having a good experience her first year of collage. Cat is trying out for the school basketball team, even though she is sick today. Maddie is at UVCC going to Cosmetology school, and is loving it. She also did another pageant, which is giving her tremendous self esteem and confidence.

Here she is singing "Put Your Records On" for her talent.

Again, I will post updates later on this week of our summer and fall so far. I have got a lot of pictures and videos, as to not make it a totally boring experience for you!

Just Dance!

Cat, Artem and Sasha are in the Temple Celebration Program tomorrow night at the Conference Center.  It was a huge effort for multiple regions, to put this all together.  It was an even a bigger effort to get the boys to dance!  At first I bribed them with more computer time.  That didn't turn out so great.  When their schedule's got too busy, is when they couldn't even get on the computer.  That was when we had to pull out the; "You're going to dance because, I'm the Mom, and I say so!"  I know that they will be glad someday when pigs fly, but for now I think that it has been a fun experience for them.  I have caught them having a good time with their friends, so I know all the pleading, prodding, yelling, screaming, kicking, fighting, was well worth it!  Cat was even having bouts of "I don't want to's," until she got herself a partner for the dance.  A very cute partner.  The boys were okay until they got cute partners for the dance.  They have a lot of growing up to do in the maturity department.  I must say though, that they are so dang cute dancing!      

You may be able to see them in the on stage performance if you look hard enough.  We had to tape that performance for our stake, so I couldn't let my kids get all the glory!

  

In other news, my oldest Maddie was in the Miss Sandy Pageant.  She did this all on her own, and I was so proud of her for doing so.  She has never been able to perform in front of people very well.  She didn't even speak in church, when we all had to speak as a family.  She was too uptight about it.  To do this Pageant she had to really step out of her comfort zone.  It was a fun night for her.  Although, she didn't win Miss Sandy, she did win a $2,500 modeling contract with Urban Talent Management.  Here are some highlights of the pageant.  Way to go Maddie!