One Busy Weekend

Larry and I try to be good parents.  I remember when I first adopted Caleb I was going to be the most perfect parent ever.  I had had 10 years of watching family members and friends raise their children and I thought I had all the right ideas and plans.  (chuckle!!)  Or course I found out that raising children is so much harder than what you think and nothing goes according to plan.  And to make things even harder, every child is different and has different needs and responds to different techniques.

As parents we have been really good about holding Family Home Evening every week.  That is a program that prophets in our church have been encouraging us to do for many years.  We are really good at it.  In fact when times come up that I am not prepared my kids don't even think that there is another alternative, they expect it every week and sometimes it is fun, sometimes not, sometimes we fight, and sometimes we love.  It is a great time and our kids really look forward to it.  We also read scriptures every morning as well as memorize scriptures or songs or sayings every month.  We pray morning and night every day and it has become such a habit that my kids do it when Larry and I aren't home, they don't go to bed until family prayers are said.  It is kinda neat that it is so ingrained in them.

During the summer I have the kids read every day, I give them a page or two of homework, and they work.  I find work for them to do every day and every week I try to arrange some type of service project for our family.  From weeding, to shoveling snow to making cookies for someone we try to do something as a family to serve someone else.  I love these small traditions we have established but sometimes if it is all work the troops begin to rebel....so we also try to have a lot of FUN every Week!!!!

This summer we bought Lagoon season passes and have been up there every week.  But last weekend I was surprised at how much we did.  I was exhausted.  Friday we spent the day at Lagoon.  During the day we were at the water park and even at 40+ years old I love going down the water slides and laying out by the pool.  So much fun!  Then we met Larry for dinner and he joined us for the night riding the rides.  Guess what?  I love riding roller coasters too!  We got home around 11:00 at night only to wake up the next day and do yard work at our home and a neighbor's home, then we ate lunch with Caleb and brought him a little visitor.  Snoop (his teddy bear hamster) came to visit him and he was soooo excited!  Then we came home and played in the FOAM at the Lehi Foam days, and then we headed up to Sundance to ride the lift and hike to Stewart Falls!  Wow!!  What a day.  But we had so much fun :)  I love keeping busy and I love doing things that build memories with my children.  Whether we are working, serving or playing we are doing it together and I am so grateful for my family.

Caleb & Snoop

Foam Days at Lehi

So much fun :)

Ski Lift at Sundance...look how pretty!

Hike to Stewart Falls

Stewart Falls

Look how green and beautiful...we live in a wonderful place!

About to get wet on the Rattlesnake Rapids!

I LOVE my sisters!

I am very blessed to have four wonderful women as my sisters.  I grew up in a family of FIVE girls and NO boys.  We are really close and I love my sisters.  We try to get together as much as possible and sometimes in our husbands views maybe too much :)  But we love being with each other and there is no one I would rather be with than with one of my sisters.

In the past we have taken some fun trips together.  We have go to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Hill Cumorah, Kirtland, OH, Savannah & Atlanta, GA, Laguna Beach to see the Pageant of the Arts.  This past month three of my sisters and I went on another trip.  We do this ever once in awhile and it is so much fun!  This year my sister Lynne turned 50 and we tried to get something planned for a couple of months but she was in the midst of a move and didn't want to commit to anything.  Then last minute, literally we planned it in 24 hours, we decided to go up north to Vancouver Island and Olympic National Forest.  Tammy wasn't able to go so last minute and we really missed her.  Next time we need a little more notice so everyone can go.  But we wanted to go and celebrate Lynne's birthday and she really wanted to visit Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC.  So off we went.

The Northwest is so beautiful!!!  We flew into Seattle, drove to Vancouver, took a ferry to Vancouver Island and toured the Butchart Gardens, then we ferried over to Port Angeles, WA and drove all around the Olympic Peninsula.  I don't think I have seen such beautiful scenery.  All of us are very alike in how we like to travel as well.  We want to see as much as possible so we go, go, go until midnight and wake up early and then we figure we will sleep later.  That is what we did on this trip too.  But it was worth it because we saw some pretty incredible places in such a short time.  We hiked many hikes but since we weren't really planning on hiking (remember, this was last minute and we didn't have any reservations anywhere, we just checked in to places and hoped they had room) JaNet and I ended up hiking in our sandals :)  We had a blast and it was just what the doctor ordered, for me at least.  Actually for all of us.  We all had a pretty stressful month of June:  Kim had surgery on her shoulder, her daughter got evacuated from the Sierra Vista fires, her son left for Tokyo on his mission, her other son was up for rank advancement in the guard, and her oldest has been unemployed for a few months and they just had their fourth child; JaNet had a son leave for his mission to Africa and her husband had a massive heart attack; Lynne moved from a huge mansion to a smaller home and to top it off it was completely ready with the remodel and didn't have everything ready.  Also her oldest just graduated from High School, and me, well I won't go into complete detail to protect the privacy of my children, but one of my children is living elsewhere to get some help and that decision was made in June.  So needless to say we all needed some fun in our lives.

Here are some fun places that we visited:



On the Ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, BC




Downtown Vancouver




La Push Beach #2, my favorite of the three beaches that we hiked into.




Lake Quinolt...absolutely beautiful!!




Farthest NW corner of the continental United Staes



Olympic Penisula - look at that water!!

FOURTH OF JULY



Entire Family on 4th of July



At the Balloon Site with the Stormtroopers



 Today we celebrated the fourth of July!  I was worried about what we would do today and how to make sure it was special for ALL of my children.  With so much going on I didn't have time to plan much but luckily in our area there are TONS of things to do.  We decided to start the day off by seeing the balloon race for the Freedom Festival.  It started at 6:00 so we knew we had to wake up early.  As many nights this past I didn't sleep well and when it time to get up I told Larry I would have to catch up with them a little later.  So Larry took Anastacia and Nathanael and they went to see the balloons.  It is really a neat sight to see so many hot air balloons take off but unfortunately today the weather was bad so they did not take off.  But they did blow them up and the kids had fun seeing them anyway.  They especially loved the Star Wars Darth Vadar balloon and Storm Troopers.



Waiting for the parade

 Maria and I met up with them at 9:00 for the Freedom Festival parade, that was fun, and then we all met up with Caleb to eat lunch and play games.  We played Guestures and BS, Caleb's favorites games.  It was fun to be with him.  I miss him so much!!  We also had a little FHE lesson on the meaning of the 4th of July.  I couldn't believe that none of  my children could tell me what important event happened on this day and why it was our independance day.  Silly kids!  Finally Caleb came up with the answer.  We read through the Declaration of Independance and that was fun to do.  Then our wonderful neighbors invited us to a BBQ tonight.  I am so grateful for them because I was just too tired to do anything and we went over there, ate great food, had great conversation, and then watched all the fireworks go off all around us.  It was quite the show!  Loved it!!

Today as I was thinking of past 4th of July I was thought of many fun ones we have enjoyed as a family.  I remember being in San Diego watching them from the back patio of my sister's home overlooking the ocean.  It was a beautiful view.  I thought of the many times we watched them up in North Salt Lake with Larry's family and the kids playing in the grass with glow sticks.  I thought of the time we watched them in a swimming pool in Arizona and then last year when we watched them in ShowLow with all our Ellsworth Cousins at our Family Reunion.  I even thought of the time when Larry and I watched them while on Tammy's boat in the San Francisco Bay.  Awesome!!  I remember one 4th of July parade in Utah where my niece had just broken up with her fiance and during the parade I invited her to live with us and just like that we had one more person riding back with us to Arizona.  I remember the last 4th of July I spent with my Dad sitting in front of his Insurance office ... the "White House" in Chandler.  I have a picture of my Dad holding my boys and it was Caleb's first 4th of July ever.  I have some really fond memories of some great celebrations.  It is an important celebration not just for our country but for our families.  This is truly a great family celebration.

Then I remembered that it was on a 4th of July weekend that altered the course of my family.  It was in 1997 and I was working at the time and traveling a lot.  I happened to be in Boston for a meeting with a vender just before the big weekend.  After I had wrapped up my meetings I was heading to the airport and I thought, "I am in Boston for the 4th of July weekend...I should go hear the Boston Pops play in the park."  I also had a store that I wanted to visit so on a very rare impulse I called my assistant and asked him to change my flight to the following day and help me find a room for the night.  I was going to stay in Boston.  As I drove past the airport exit I had a small feeling and voice inside me tell me that I should get on that plane and go home.  But I quickly dismissed it thinking I am always the responsible one, just this once I am going to be impulsive and do what I want.  So I did.  Guess what happened??  The store I wanted to shop at was closed, that was kinda irritating.  But even more than that, my assistant could not find me a room to stay in that night.  Every hotel room was BOOKED!!  I didn't even think that this was 4th of July in Boston.   I started calling around, I called Larry and he started calling around, my assistant stayed two hours late that night calling.  I would call one place and they would tell me they only had suites left and it would be $350 a night.  Then after getting several "no's" I would call back and decide to take the high priced suite only to find out now all they had left was their presidential suite at $800 a night.  Frustrating!!

I started to panic.  I started seeing myself sleeping in my car, getting attacked by a homeless person and never seeing my husband again.  About 8:00 at night my husband finally found me a room.  As I got settled in the room I thought to myself, "I was prompted to get on that plane."  Although I didn't know the situation the Lord did and he tried to get me to go home but I wouldn't listen.  I had missed the concert, didn't get to shop at the store I wanted and spent the last 6 hours stressed out!  As I spoke with Larry that night he said to me that perhaps the Lord let me experience this thing to teach me a lesson when the consequences were not so horrible.  Sometimes he is preparing us for something bigger.  Sure I lost out on a little, but it was not life changing.  I pondered that all night and thought to myself, I know what the still small voice is like now and if I ever get that feeling again I will know what it is and I will follow it. 

The next day I flew home.  On the flight home I had that same feeling and voice that I had when I drove by the airport exit.  But this time it told me something even harder than to go home.  Actually it was kinda the same message.  The voice told me to quit my job and stay at home.  Larry and I had been married for 8 years at this time and there was absolutely NO prospect of any children in our future.  But I knew the feeling and I knew the Lord had set this up for me to listen.  I came home and the next day went into my boss and told him that it was time to quit.  Now just know that I LOVED my job.  I was a Vice President, in charge of pretty much everything, doing everything, traveling, planning events, creating teams, writing, doing everything I loved to do.  This was a dream job and I was being paid very well for it.  My bosses loved me and this came out of the blue.  It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made.  But I couldn't deny the feeling I felt and the experience I had had.  It is hard to relate in writing how much they hit my heart to the core.  But I knew it was time for me to come home.  Luckily my bosses shared the same belief in God as I do and after the initial shock they understood. 

 So it was a 4th of July weekend that brought me home and started my journey to becoming a mom.  It would still be 18 months before Caleb came to live with me but at the same time Caleb was starting his journey.  It was in July of that same year that he was taken from his biological parents and placed into CPS custody.  Coincidence...I don't think so.  It was all part of the plan.







HERE I GO AGAIN

I blogged about our adoption of our girls almost five years ago so that our friends and family would know what was going on :)  I have always thought I should keep it up but never did...but guess what?  I'm back!  After a Relief  Society activity on blogging I thought I should keep writing.  We do have some pretty amazing stories in relation to our adoptions and many people keep telling me I should write a book of all the miraculous stories surrounding our family.  So instead of a book, I'll start blogging about it.

I'll jump around a lot, as I feel so inclined.  Eventually I'll get to all our adoption stories and even how Larry and I met.  It will be a piece by piece life history of our family.  Hope it all comes together.

Home Sweet Home

We made it!!! We are finally home and things are going so well. I am just waiting for all the breakdowns and meltdowns that I hear are so common but so far we have not experienced that.

Our flight home went very well. The girls were extremly tired since they didn't get much rest. Aida met us at 12:30 AM to catch our 3:20 AM flight and the girls didn't get to sleep that night until 10:30, so you can see how much rest we got. They slept on the flight from Almaty to Frankfurt. We got lost in the airport in Frankfurt (the signs were wrong!), so we were not able to get them any food or drink, so when we boarded in Frankfurt they were famished. The steward was very kind and got them some things. They won everyone's heart on the airplane from Frankfurt to Chicago. They were laughing and loved the earphones, they were dancing to the music and switching the channels on the TV in front of them. As we were getting to land in Chicago they were singing America, America!!! It was so cute!!!

Immigration was a little tricky. I didn't know what I was doing and it seemed that no one else did either. I only had an hour to catch my connecting flight so it was a bit tense for awhile. Even as I was leaving passport control they man asked me for my paper (which they did not give me), but by that time I was antsy and told them I was going to miss my plane! He let me go and told me it was not his fault if my papers were messed up. I figured I rather work that out at home over the phone than wait in the airport for another flight. We'll see how it all plays out.

Larry, the boys and my mom were waiting at the airport when we arrived. Anastacia was so excited, and Maria was too until we touched ground. Then she started clamming up. I think it started sinking in. She was a little quiet at first but as we started driving home and when we got home they were both brimming with excitement. They loved the house, they loved their rooms. They thought it was so neat they had their own private park (our backyard!). We had some toys and clothes in the closet for them and they just loved them. It was so fun to see their utter joy and excitement over everything.

I do admit that I feel that I have two toddlers to look after. Because they are not familiar with things they are into EVERYTHING!!! They love the phone and run to answer it all the time. Sometimes hanging up before I can get to them. They love the computer and want to be on it all the time. They love the TV, DVD player, CD player, everything and anything electronic. They touch everything and they don't have the concept of not everything is theirs to touch.

They are fearless. We asked them if they knew how to ride a bike, they said yes. Both hopped on the bikes and started riding. Maria did and was OK, Anastacia did not and fell immediately. But yet she tried to do it again several times. We had to watch her like a hawk so she wouldn't hurt herself. The same thing happened with swimming. They both said they knew how to swim but as they jumped into the pool it was very apparent they didn't when they both started drowning. Thank heavens Caleb pulled Maria to the side, and I got Anastacia! It is so amazing to me. I would have thought that this type of knowledge came from age, but it is apparent that is comes from experience. Even with the curling iron, Anastacia grabbed it by the metal side and burned herself. It is a learning experience for me to remember to act and watch them as I would a 2 year old!

But they are learning so fast. They are amazing. It has been so much fun. Everyday we have had lots of people visiting to meet the girls and while they are shy at first, they open up really fast. Anastacia is constantly giggling and is so cute. She loves everyone. Maria is a little more reserved, but has meet some friends in the neighborhood and they absolutely love her. I have had more kids at my house in the last few days than I have in the past year! It seems to be OK for the girls. I sometimes wonder if they are overwhelmed but they seem to thrive on it, especially Anastacia. I think I am the one overwhelmed! To go from two kids to four is double the work. But it is great.

Larry and I said many times while going through this process that if we had known how hard it was going to be we would not have started it. But after having these girls in our homes and in our family, we would have done it and more. They are precious and wonderful and it feels like they have been ours forever. We are so grateful for these two beautiful girls!

We're Coming Home

Today we had a great blessing! I went to the embassy and asked if we could have our interview today and we were told no. I explained that I didn't realize it was a holiday yesterday and that my plane tickets would have to be changed and it would cost money, and I was told no. I asked if I could pay an expediting fee, I again was told no. So I started to leave with a lot of sorrow in my heart. I then remembered that we didn't even have a time for the appointment for tomorrow so we turned around to ask. Something inside of me told me to ask one more time and maybe even ask if there was someone else I could talk to. We went back to the window and waited, and waited and waited. The lady was talking to someone else who Aida said was the consulate. I thought I am not going to leave until I talk to her again. Aida wanted to leave but I said no. The lady finally came to the window and told me to take a seat. So I did. About 15-20 minutes later she called me up and told me I could have my interview today!!!!! Then she told me how sweet and cute the girls were! I was so grateful I almost starting crying. I know it was God's answer to mine and many others prayers.

So we had our interview and we are leaving in about 2 1/2 hours. It went very smoothly.

The rest of the day we took a walk, went to the market, and went to lunch. There is a cafe underneath us that I like going to but today it took an especially long time (over 1/2 hour just to get our drinks!) In Kazakhstan don't expect to be in and out of a restaurant quickly, it is at least an hour and sometimes more. But it was good because it filled up time. I had a little problem with the girls, the communication is hard and they don't understand what I am doing and I don't understand what they are doing and we sometimes come to the wrong conclusion, but they still love me and they are so excited to go to America. They are especailly wired tonight.

The sister missionaires came over one more time and taught the girls about prophets and baptism. Since our friend Hannah is getting baptised this Saturday I thought it would be good that the girls understand what they are going to. Once again Maria was a very quick learner. She said she wanted to get baptised as well, but we will probably wait for awhile, at least until she understands English. It was great to have the sisters here. They stayed past their time but the girls LOVED having them here and it was good for them to help me explain the trip better to the girls. Things like don't run away from me in the airport and make sure you eat when they bring you your food because your not getting anymore until the plane lands! Just simple things but they need to be communicated. The sisters were a great blessing to me and I am so grateful for them!!! Although they feel they didn't do much, just the knowledge of them being here, coming over each day, and teaching the girls was a great blessing to me.

The girls are so excited to go they can hardly stand it. I hope they crash on the plane because it will be a long 24 hours! They are so cute, they just jump up and down and giggle. Maria is constantly hugging me and saying she is going to America to see her Papa and brats. (Brat is brother is Russian!)

Almaty is a wonderful city and I think my desire to hurry and get home is more from the fact that I want my family reunited rather than I want to leave this city. In fact it would have been a lot of fun to visit the zoo tomorrow with the sister missionaries. But just having us all together is what is driving me to get home. It will be wonderful!!!!

Counting Down The Days

Today we visit in the embassy and yesterday we had our doctor's appointment. It went very well. We were an hour late because of our driver, but luckily they waited for us and had us come anyway. The girls were pronounced very healthy, and the only thing the doctor said was that Maria was quite short for her age. I already knew that!!

Afterwards, Aida, our driver/translator (but she really doesn't know english very well!) took us to the big mall here in Almaty. It had pizza (more like American pizza than what we had in Petro), hamburgers, dunkin donuts!, Baskins Robbins, and an ice skating rink. That was fun to be there. We even let the girls try their hand with ice skating. Although Maria had said she had been before I don't think either of them had ever had ice skates on their feet! It was funny to watch. Anastacia scouted around the rink twice holding on to the edge before she gave up, but Maria actually started venturing off to the middle and really skating. She is a determined little girl.

Afterwards the sister missionaires of our church came by and stayed a few hours with us. We took them to dinner and the girls loved them. They taught them a little about the plan of salvation, which they were very surprised at how much Maria knew! She answered all the question right! When they were talking about sin, she said that when you do wrong things God knocks on your heart and tells you you are doing wrong. I thought that was a cute expression! The only thing she did not comprehend or know was the difference between our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. To her they were one in the same instead of two distinct beings. But afterwards when they were asking Anastacia who the picture was of, Maria was quick to say Jesus Christ, not God. It was interesting to hear of her beliefs and when asked where she learned about God she said she taught herself. She said that she was so smart that she doesn't even listen at school because she already knows everything!

Anastacia was more interested in putting on makeup, nail polish and doing the missionaries hair than listening. I don't know if she learned anything. I was wrong about her being our tomboy. She is ALL girl. She puts on makeup, does her nails, and wants me to do her hair about three times a day. She is constantly wanting to put lip gloss on me and brush my hair as well. It is so cute! She also LOVES dresses!

It was a good day. At night we had a little more trouble getting to bed. Maria doesn't like to go to bed and we seem to have a problem there. But we finally go to sleep. Then I heard noises at 2:00 AM and went into their room to find the light on and they were wide awake playing! I had Maria come and sleep with me and know I fing Anastacia on the floor sleeping. I don't know if she feel off or what! It is cute. I guess I won't be having her on the top bunk for awhile!

We have really been blessed. The girls are wonderful and as hard as this process has been I see an end where our family will all be together. I cannot help but express my love and gratitude to God for blessing us so much. I have learned and continue to learn so much and one thing has been my dependence on God and how when I do depend on him, he always has things work out for me and comforts my heart. I guess he is down there knocking on my heart telling me what to do!

We Already Miss Maria

Well yesterday we had to wake up the girls to get them ready for chuch. There were so tired. They are use to taking long naps everyday, and then they go to bed around 10:00 and wake at 6 or 7, but without the naps I think they will sleep a little longer. I fixed breakfast (scrambled eggs) and they devoured it like they haven't eaten in months! They have been so hungry since they have been with me! I showed the blankets that they Grandma Darlene had made for them and they loved them, and I bought them dresses for church. They loved the dresses but then Maria said she didn't want to wear it today. I thought she didn't like it but then to come find out she didn't want to match Anastacia. I always buy matching things!!! I guess my matching days are coming to an end, the kids are getting to old. She wore the dress anyway and they both looked very cute!

The sister missionaries met us to take us to church. We had to catch a couple of busses and that was quite an experience. Evidently the busses are on the own profit center, there is no schedule and they drive as fast as they can so they can get to the next stop before the other bus does so they can get the money! They will start moving before you are even on or off the bus!!! It was quite interesting. Church was wonderful, it felt just like home. That is one thing I love about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it doesn't matter where you are it is the same, the people love you and you feel like you are at home. I wanted to stay there all day. There were several Americans there, and one girl was getting married in October to an American and moving to Safford, AZ!! She was so excited to hear I was from Arizona and said now she had a friend in America. They were all so kind and they translated every meeting for me. Everyone thought it was wonderful that I was adopting the girls and wanted to talk with me.

Big Maria came with us to church but had to leave after the first meeting. She had to get to the airport. That was a moment I don't want to relive and I wasn't wanting to come. I personally will miss her so much, and the girls will too. She has become part of our family. We were all crying, the girls were just sobbing as we watched her walk away. My heart just broke. What was I going to do without her?? And I am sure that is what the girls were thinking as well! Everyone at church didn't quite understand what was happening and was wondering why we were all crying. But some young women took the girls hands and took them to primary. I think being there was the best place we could have been to have Maria leave because there were others who could still talk to the girls and comfort them and translate for me. And we were able to direct our attention to something else. The Primary President said that they did really good and once she started asking them questions and making them think of something else they stopped crying. Anastacia was hugging and kissing and flirting with everyone by the time church was over, she loved it! She said she was going to go all the time to church. Maria said she wasn't going to go again, but I know it is because she was still having a hard time with big Maria leaving. The missionaries will come over on Monday and teach them some more. I am so grateful we found them, they will help with this transition of losing Maria. They could never replace her, but they have definately helped!

The girls are fascinated with all the electronic equipment we have. The gameboys, the DVD player, the laptop. We played on the laptop learning the alphabet quite a bit. I am trying to teach them the ABC song. Maria kept typing over and over again Papa, Caleb and Nathanael's name. It is amazing to me how fast they learn. I will be so glad when we can communicate. This is definately harder than I thought. Especially when I told them it was time for bed and scriptures and prayers. Anastacia was very complying and went along with everything, but Maria did not want to do anything but play on the computer. We had a little power struggle and after I put away the laptop she moved to the DVD player, then I said no, and she moved to the gameboys. After a very firm "NYET" she realized I was making her go to bed and she started pouting and crying. I thought, I have a very spoiled child already!!!! But of course I couldn't communicate with her. At first I thought she was doing it to get her way, but then her tears turned more than that and I could tell she was really scared, really worried about the future. It is just as hard on her as it is on me to not communicate. I keep praying that the communication of love and the communication of the spirit will help us during this time. I just held her and hugged her. She finally settled down and was completely happy and back to the laptop again. Once again I said no, she gave me a pouty face but this time went back to bed and finally settled down. It is interesting how she and Caleb have such similarities and Anastacia and Nathanael are so similar!

Well I have two more days and counting, at least I hope! I hope the embassy will allow me to meet with them on Tuesday so we can come home on Wednesday. If not, the sisters said Wednesday is their P-day and they will take us to the zoo. They said the girls could ride the camels and it was an incredible zoo! So we will see what happens.