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! 

Hey time, slow down, you move too fast!

This month has been ridiculously busy.  With one Daughter graduating High School, to another Daughter participating in the Miss Sandy Pageant, and three other teens trying to pass their classes at the end of the year.  It has been overwhelming busy.  Today, however, seems to be a quite one.  No real deadlines to meet this week, so were good for this morning.

Now to catch up!  It was great to meet and greet one of the families that just came back from Ukraine with their new 3 teenaged Daughters. (Yes, you read it right!)  They are beautiful girls, and we are so happy for them.    

  Sasha is getting so tall!  He is still growing too!  He and Artem are the same height and weight, and he is a year younger!

I couldn't stay long.  As part of a great Mother's Day, Kent took me to the Eagles Concert (which was amazing!) 

Here is a small glimpse of the concert.

The Kids were also so great this year.  They went out with their own money and bought me fun gifts.  The boys both got me these funny cards, and wrote some very tender things in them.  That was the best gift from them, and all I could have asked for.  Lauren got me a Willow Tree figurine of a Mother and Daughter, chocolate covered gummy bears, (my favorite), and a white chocolate caramel apple!  

Maddie and Cat walked into my bedroom with a tray of food and Edward Cullen!  Who could ask for anything more!  It scared me to death.  I wasn't at all prepared to be receiving any guests, let alone Edward Cullen! 

 

The boys got their braces finally!  Sasha has been asking for them, since he got here.  Artem didn't think that he needed them.  I didn't either until I had them both looked at by our Orthodontist.  It was way obvious that Sasha need them.  He had teeth growing out of the roof of his mouth.  He had one removed, and the other one needs to be pushed into place.  Artem has pretty straight teeth, but had a very pronounced overbite, and his jaw line was set way back, which made so he looked like he didn't have much of a chin if you looked at him from the side.      

                                Sasha will have his braces much longer then Artem.  He would not let me take a picture of them.  Sorry folks!

Sasha only got braces on the top teeth, which requires a lot more work then the bottom teeth.  He will get his bottoms ones later on.  He will have his braces for about 4 years!

Artem got the whole shebang!  Braces, top and bottom and a herps!  A herps is a little contraption that orthodontist are using instead of headgear.  It is correcting his overbite and giving him a more pronounced jaw line.  It looks really good.  It doesn't feel good though, and he wonders why he even needs it.  You know, they don't need braces in Ukraine! Artem will only have to wear his braces for about a year.  Thats a very short time for you and me, but for a 15 year old teen aged boy, it's an eternity!

They are still hurting and can't eat a whole lot.  I have been making scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and cup cakes.  Yummy!  I shredded up some barbecued chicken last night, and they scarfed it down.  They were so hungry. 

Lastly, Kent and I and some friends of ours, rode in the Salt Lake Century ride on Saturday.   Kent is getting ready for the LOTOJA race in September.  It is a bike race from Logan Utah, to Jackson Hole Wyoming and is 203 miles long!  He has to finish it in one day.  I'm getting ready for the Little Red Riding Hood ride in Logan.  I'm attempting to do 100 miles this year.  I only did the 36 miler last year.  My friend Jen and I, were only going to do 67 miles in the Century, but she got a wild hair and wanted to go as far as we possibly could.  I knew I wasn't ready for anything more then 40.  I wasn't even sure I could go 67.  By the time I finished I had completed 94 Miles!  I couldn't believe it!  After running into a parked truck on the Tuesday before, with a jammed up arm and a jammed up bike, I was still able to ride on Saturday, and do more miles than I had ever done in my life!  WOW.  I don't even have to mention how sore I am now!  Looking back it was quite fun though.

Over all it has been a pretty good month so far.  Keeping really busy helps with the kids not getting so bored!  I don't know what I'm going to do with them for the Summer.  The boys will see Inna through the Summer.  I don't want them to get lazy with their English skills they have learned so far.  They don't want to do it, but too bad!  They will thank me someday, just not anytime soon though.  

Taking A Time Out

Hello all!  It has been a while.  I have just been enjoying reading other blogs, that I haven't really felt like writing in mine.  Having said that, it is not entirely true.  Artem told me that he didn't like to be the focus of my blogs, and would rather not be in them.  Of course, I'm putting it nicer then he did.  Even if I'm saying positive things, he doesn't want the attention.  Well, I have been thinking about it over these last several weeks, and I don't care!  Artem, you will have to get used to the fact that your Mother likes to talk and brag about you.  Sasha doesn't mind it, but he is always eager for the attention.  

So here it goes.  This month has been bipolar.  Just as Katy Perry's song said.  You're hot and you're cold, you're yes and you're no, you're in and you're out, you're up and you're down.  You're wrong when it's right, it's black and it's white, we fight, we brake up.  We kiss, we make up!  You!  You don't really want to stay, no!  But you don't really want to go, oh!  

Yes, we had the "If you don't like the rules, and if you can't abide by them, we will gladly send you back to Ukraine where you were so happy!"  I promised myself I would never say that, but they put that dang straw on my back, and I lost it!  However, it did make me see how much they really like it here.  That they really like the rules, but put up a stink because they are teenagers and that is their job.  When it comes to reading time, they fight with me tooth and nail.  When they settle down and finally read, I think they really enjoy it.  Not the reading as much as the fact that we are devoting our time to them.  This is what they crave!  Me too!

 I must say, that Artem had me in tears this past weekend.  He tries to be "The Man" at 15, and doesn't need a Mom telling him how to live his life.  Even though I just want to help him live his age!  They tell me stories all the time of how they needed to fight for their place at the internat.  It is similar here in our schools, only they talk it out before they fight.  Artem said that in Ukraine there is no talkin', just boom, smack down, may the best man win, kind of thing.  Oh, I might add that it would help if they had a stick or some kind of a bat!  Then they laugh, like it's funny.  There is no feeling of "Man that was harsh" or "It would scare the snot out of me!"  

Everything violent is funny to them, and that scares the snot out of me!  They are very non-violent kids in their actions though.  Last night, they were both wrestling with Cat, but being very careful not to really hurt her.  Artem and Sasha both don't like our dog too much because Ike bites their heels when they try and leave, and barks at them.  But Artem feeds him everyday, and worries about him being outside in the cold.  Sasha wants to sell, kill, lose him, so he jokes, but plays with him all the time.  You can really tell kids temperaments by the way they treat animals.  Bottom line, they both are very gentle, kind boys.  They are just all talk, to get a reaction out of us.  

Jorgensen, Wendelbos, and us, took a time out, and went to St. George for their spring break.  It was the boy's first real vacation, and they had a blast!  So did we.  What great families we were with.  It is all because of Save A Child Foundation and these boys.  I've said that there are some amazing people in this organization, and it just keeps getting better.  The friendships I have made alone have been so worth while, and are a huge part of my life now.  You guys are awesome.  I couldn't do these kids without all of your support and love.