Cherstyn & Matt

Luke Walking Today! Woo hoo!!

2011-11-25T21:22:00.004-07:00

Luke began walking between 2-5 steps about a month ago, but would give up trying when he realized he could crawl to his destination much faster. Today, however, he took a major leap forward in the walking department.... I hear my life is about to change. :)

This is what Luke gave to Grammy Shannon for her birthday - I love you, Grammy!

Lot's of Stuff - Family Sealing, Kayla's 16th, Homecoming, Girls DC Trip for Sal's Bday, and more...

2011-10-11T15:54:00.010-06:00

This is today, October 11th, and Matt wanted to catch a shot of Luke and his pointer finger - he uses this like crazy, but not for long, and it's the cutest thing...

Random shot of Luke on Sept. 28th

Kayla's Homecoming Dance last month - she's so beautiful and we can't believe she can date and drive and has a job and runs cross country and get's amazing grades...shall I go on? Kayla I want to be just like you when I grow up!!

Luke didn't know what to think of all of us gathered around taking pictures of Kay.

So cute!

Sometime in September we took this picture of Nate and Luke, ready for the tub. Love the fat.

We love his little hands.

In September I was able to fly out to DC to join all of my friends for a surprise birthday party for Sarah. She was SO surprised, and her reaction made me cry - we love her so much and wanted so badly for her to feel loved and surprised. It totally worked! She had no idea.

Fun to be with the gang again!

The night I flew into town we had dinner with Camille, Kory and Karen. First time for me away from the baby and it was tough (I'm a rookie) but it was so great to be with these girls. I learn so much from these women and am so grateful they are my friends.

In August Auntie Nicole and Mira came to town and Nicole took the kids to "Afternoon Tea" at the Grand America Hotel. This quickly became a tradition as they are already talking about her next visit. She taught them manners and they had fun. Here's Mira, Nate and Shaun

I had to take a picture of this cup before I tossed it. It's the 32 oz. cup they gave me in the hospital when I had Luke, and it was by my bedside for months, literally until August, because when you're nursing you are so thirsty all of the time. It was cracked and broken and time go.

In August we had a big family birthday party for Dad Don at Marie Calendars. Here's John, Tre, Syd, and Ian.

Me, Mom, Luke. The next one is so cute...

Seriously...

Laurie and Dan's clan!

Kayla, Nate, Ash, Shaun (and Dad's head!)

Melissa, Gavin, Syd

Cute Dad and Uncle Ed!

Luke in August and the Montage Deer Valley

Kayla's 16th Birthday Party! She wanted to have a water fight/whipped cream fight. See below.

Finally, our temple sealing day on March 4th. Luke is just 2 1/2 months old!

Salt Lake Temple
March 4, 2011

This video below is great - short, and ends funny...

Recap of Pregnancy with Luke

2011-06-23T11:52:00.006-06:00

38 Weeks Pregnant

Right before Lukie came!

Mom crocheted a blanket for Luke, since her mom (Grammy) would have wanted this tradition to continue on for her.

Aunt Irene, Brittany, Mom, Cher

Joanie, Trish Tintle, Kathryn, Aunt Jeanie

Grandma Ruth and Tresa (Annie in background)

Aunt Irene, Mom, Cher, Sue

Beautiful cousin Krista

Trish, Mom, Aunt Nancy

17 Weeks Pregnant

23 Weeks Pregnant

30 Weeks Pregnant

Ashley & Shaun's Baptism - Feb. 17, 2011

2011-03-10T20:55:00.003-07:00

From left to right: Elder Pizzey, Kayla, Ashley, Nate, Matt, Cher, Shaun, Elder Dick

I love this picture!!

Kayla and Nate

The Elders with Ash and Shaun

The kids with the Ukranian gang: Dima, Pasha, Lena, Marina, Nate, Kayla, Ashley, Nick Rosa, Robert Miller and Shaun

Love this little baby poem that my friend Katie just shared with me...

2011-03-09T13:53:00.002-07:00

Cleaning and cooking can wait 'till tomorrow
For babies grow up, as we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

Welcome Baby Luke (more pictures, text soon...)

2011-02-01T18:07:00.020-07:00

Christmas Day, finally home from the hospital!

Day Old Child

Carol Lynn Pearson

My day-old child lay in my arms,

With my lips against his ear.

I whispered strongly, "How I wish--

I wish that you could hear,

"I've a hundred wonderful things to say,

(a tiny cough and a nod),

hurry, hurry, hurry and grow

So I can tell you about God."

My day-old baby's mouth was still

And my words only tickled his ear,

But a kind of light passed through his eyes,

And I saw this thought appear:

"How I wish I had a voice and words,

I've a hundred things to say.

Before I forget, I'd tell you of God--

I left Him yesterday."

Pregnancy Update & Baby's Room Photos

2010-12-07T19:24:00.003-07:00

In all the waiting for Luke to arrive we've been able to finish up all loose ends in the house (trying to find a bright side!). It's been wonderful having Mom here to help me get everything ready for his arrival. Here's his room. You will notice we opted for a twin bed in there along with the crib, rather than a rocker. Matt had this when Kayla and Nate were babies and loved it, and since then many friends have convinced me it's the way to go. You'll notice on the wall is an empty frame - as soon as Luke is here and able, we'll take a picture of him and fill in the empty space. The other baby picture is of Matt.
We chose a "dog" theme for his room, as I'm pretty picky about theme's in general (couldn't bring myself to commit to a Winney the Pooh or Disney something or other permanently). The dog theme, however, totally fits our family and is cute for a boys room. We love how it turned out.

If you can click on this picture and see it larger, you'll see that the three photos on the wall are of our three dogs... Kona, Sadie, and Lilly. Though Sadie is not with us any longer we still had to include her. The caption says "snips and snails and puppy dog tails" - our neighbor, Julie's, idea. I think she's single-handedly decorated most homes in our neighborhood and we don't know what we'd do without her!

So this is the "update" portion of this post. Last Wednesday, Dec. 1st, I/we had a lovely false alarm. I am not a fan of the word "false" these days as the term "false labor" was taught to me the hard way. I learned that what that really means is simply laboring without progress/dilation. At 2pm I began, at 11pm it stopped all together (after my contractions got to 4 minutes apart). The clue was that contractions should get more intense/painful as they get closer together, whereas mine were becoming easier, so we knew something may not be happening this night. For the last 6 days since this happened, I've had inconsistent and uncomfortable contractions every day. Only yesterday did I learn that I'm finally dilating, so we'll give it a day or two and hope that Luke comes on his own. I'd really rather not induce but am willing to if too many more days go by. More soon!

These pictures are of the false-labor night - the family gathered round and made me laugh between contractions. I think I've scared Kayla and Ashley permanently from having children, which I don't mind since they're only teenagers. :)

Halloween Activities!

2010-11-02T08:20:00.005-06:00

Annual Stockwell Family Pumpkin Patching!

Oct. 9, 2010
Shaun at the pumpkin patch

Love this shot of Nate

Shaun and Kayla!

At Lagoon for "Frightmares"

Oleg, Ashley, scary guy, Shaun, Kayla, Nate at Frightmares

This guys scared the heck out of Ashley - she still doesn't have her voice back. She didn't know it wasn't just a statue until he moved at just the right moment to scare her.

Ashley and Oleg

Ashley and her new friend Ibrahim

For Halloween Ashley was Jack the Pumpkin King from the move The Nightmare Before Christmas

Shaun is scary guy on the left, then Jack the Pumpkin King (aka Ashley) then Nate was the guy from Scream, then Kayla was a witch, then Matt, just for fun was half-himself, and the head of Nacho Libre...

Matt Knows What It's Like to Be Pregnant

2010-10-31T21:29:00.002-06:00

In our first prenatal class our instructor had the men wear an "Empathy Belly" - and not just try it on, but wear it for a couple of hours each. The thing is filled with weights and weighs 30 lbs. (and had "boobs"). Shortly he was replicating my waddle and the good news is it worked - EMPATHY acheived - as he was even more aware of helping me, my off center-of-balance, etc. It even puts pressure on your bladder, so he had to go to the bathroom, chuckling on the way there. He looks cute pregnant, don't you think?

St. George - Oct. 1-3, 2010

2010-10-31T20:59:00.003-06:00

We had a wonderful time in St. George with Grammy and Grandpa! This night we went to Tarzan at the Tuacahn.

During the day we went to Sand Hollow for swimming, cliff jumping and fishing. Matt caught himself with a rapala, only to not want to deal with it at the moment, so we cut it off with wire cutters, then put a band-aid over the remainder of the hooks that were left in his back, and only after a day of swimming and playing, plus going to Priesthood Session, did our friend Jeff Chapman take it out for him. Playing is the priority, no matter what is stuck in your back!

Real Soccer Game - Sept. 25

2010-10-31T20:55:00.003-06:00

The whole family LOVES soccer - this night we went to the Real Salt Lake game.

The Bringhurst's Cabin - Sept. 25th

2010-10-17T19:42:00.005-06:00

Thanks, Bringhurst's, for a wonderful day at your cabin - we love you!

Update on All of Our Kids

2010-09-27T08:44:00.007-06:00

I haven't blogged in FOREVER! It's not easy adjusting to four kids and a pregnancy, so bear with me! But it's been so much fun, and with school already being in session for a month, and the routines of daily life finally feeling "routine" I thought I would take a breather and update the blog on our growing family.

Kayla couldn't be more amazing - how many times have we said that? She's 15 and a sophomore at Alta High School, and continues to impress us with her maturity, fun, self reliance, motivation, talent, and love. She's beautiful inside and out. She's about to get her learners-permit and is already online looking for a car to start saving for - we can't believe it! She's still playing piano and cello and working very hard in school. Don't grow up, Kayla!!

Ashley is so creative and in the last 5 weeks of having her in our home, we are seeing more and more of her personality come out. We already knew she was artistic, but she's also very animated in her story telling, and very generous in her note-writing to the family. We have pictures she's drawn all over the house! Currently we're in a Halloween theme.

Nate's just awesome - we don't know where he came from. I don't know another 12 year old boy who is so helpful and responsible. He's pretty fun to watch (on the trampoline, playing soccer, etc.), too. He's also so motivated in school (straight A's, because he currently wants to be a fighter pilot when he grows up...), and also is busy with piano, scouts and seasonal sports (Jr. Jazz basketball to soccer). He's very loving to the whole family, and I don't know what I'd do without him.

Shaun is such a blast! This kid is nothing but energy and an appetite, and fits in so well in our home (meaning, he can tease right back to his dad or siblings)! He's always on the trampoline (learning from his brother), as is Ashley, and hamming-it-up at school (we're working on that one...). I'm just glad he's so happy and is making friends in his new surroundings. We have a wonderful tutor/translator named Ksusha who the kids just love, and she's helping both Shaun and Ashley keep up at school, which they both are. We're so proud of both of them!

Ashley sent me to work with this photo to hang at my desk.

Had to include baby Luke in the blog post! This was about 2 weeks ago.

Kayla and our new little Lilly! Not that Sadie could ever be replaced, but we had to lighten up the mood in our house, and for depressed Kona. I called the vet (when Kona didn't want to even go on walks, he was so sad), and the vet said that, when we're ready, that a new companion dog would help. We found little Lilly (same breed as Sadie, mini-poodle/shih tzu but with just a little added Maltese in there) and Kona didn't know what to do with her at first. Now he's playing more and his tail is finally wagging again. We still love and miss Sadie and speak of her all the time. As a matter of fact, Shaun and Ashley have been saying family prayers now, and they even include a sentence or two about how we miss Sadie and how we know she is with Heavenly Father now... it's so sweet.

So here's Lilly. She's 12 weeks old now.

And here's Kona when he was still so pitifully sad. Doesn't help that he's a cocker spaniel, as they look so sad anyway... but he really was.

Jill Chappell came to town the weekend before school started, and the kids LOVED her! Shocking, I know. Nate and Kayla already consider her family, but Ashley and Shaun we sold when she began speaking French to them (they are very comfortable in French), and she won them over. You look beautiful, Jill - come back and see us!!

Mira and Kayla at Disneyland - August!

Shaun and Mira.

All of us (Shaun's taking the picture).

Now Nate's taking the picture.

At the Hotel Del Coronado in August. This is classic Nate.

And this is just before we got Ashley and Shaun - August in Salt Lake City. Shaun and MJ came up for her birthday and it was so much fun.

Ashley and "Jacob" - you should see her bedroom.

And more on the tramp - they love this thing. In Ukraine you had to pay money and go to a special park to even get on a trampoline. Now that it's in their own backyard, you can imagine the hours logged on this thing. It's also great "motivation" for a mom, when things need to get done (slightly suggest that there will be no trampoline jumping if homework doesn't get done, and they are suddenly very motivated to do homework).

Anyway, there's a little update on the family. We couldn't feel more blessed and happy - and are so proud of all of our kids for making this adjustment. For Ashley and Shaun because it takes a lot of bravery and courage to navigate an entirely new life in a new language (new home, school, neighborhood, culture, religion, etc.). And for Nate and Kayla who so selflessly shared their life with them, and work with them daily. I'm humbled by these kids, and want to be more like them in my own life. More soon!!

We Miss You So Much, Sadie - Nov. 24, 2006 - Aug. 25, 2010

2010-08-26T17:48:00.019-06:00

Our beloved Sadie sadly passed away yesterday afternoon at 3:00pm. Those of you who know us and know Sadie know that she was (is) a member of the familiy, and a wonderful companion to our dog Kona. We are all heartbroken today as we face the first day without her, and try to comfort our truly mourning Kona, who is depressed and very lethargic. We wanted to memorialize her here with photos and memories.

Sadie joined our family the night before our wedding, February 2, 2007. Kayla and Nate had always wanted a dog, and Matt told them that when they got a new mommy, then they could get a dog. So we gave them a surprise wedding gift, and Sadie was an instant joy to each of us.

After she passed away we held a family memorial where the kids wrote her letters that we buried with her, and we all cried and had a prayer.

This is one of our favorite memories. Sadie had a stuffed animal that she attached herself to when she was a puppy, freshly removed from her mom. Sometimes we knicknamed the stuffed dog her "boyfriend," and sometimes her "mom" (twisted, we know), but either way she was very protective and possesive of "it" and daily fell asleep next to it or on it. In this photo above, we had thrown it in the washing machine (as it had been dragged through the dirt and was covered in her slobber), and she would not leave the washing machine the entire time it was running. It was so cute.

Sadie always sat on the top of the couch looking out the window. When she went to grandpa Bob's house, she did the same thing - she just loved her window view.

This is Nate's favorite picture of he and Sadie - look how young Nate looks.

We can't believe she is gone. Just yesterday I was walking her in the morning before work, and she slept in our room with us Tuesday night, all curled up in her little "donut" shape on the chair. Kayla was just saying that she can't believe it was yesterday that Matt brought Sadie in the car with him to pick her up from school. We don't know how long it will take for us to not cry at every thought of her.

Trip 2 - Day 4

2010-08-13T22:25:00.007-06:00

Still trying to dig out of the pile of photos I'm readying to upload, and battling the challenge of using up $ on the wireless connection - but stay tuned as I have edited a bunch of photos and will get them posted, even if it's from our layover in Washington DC on Sunday (wish we had time to hang out with all the girls while at Dulles)!

So day 4 (Thursday) started rather early with Oleg picking us up for the medical appt, which once complete, would allow us to get the Visas finished. Our follow up appt with the Embassy was supposed to be Friday at 10 a.m., but we were able to get it pushed to Thursday afternoon and in the event all went well with medical, we'd be able to completely finished. So medical did go without a hitch - whew! We then went to a downstairs mall in the downtown center of Kyiv and ate at a food court. So guess what the kids ate? Big Mac's and fries - while I, on the other hand, have been getting really good at finding the Ukrainian food I like (including the buckwheat, which is cooked much like brown rice) and had a great lunch with a variety of things - all very healthy, unlike my crazy kid counterparts!

We went to the MTC store where we initially purchased the wireless modem (1st trip) and had them look at why it has been behaving so glitchily (nice word, eh?) and they identified it was the USB cable - bought a new one for $10 and life has been smooth since. I wish you guys could see the number of gyrations sweet Cherstyn went through on the first trip, monkeying with the device, finding the precise position - typically hanging it from some inane structure like the ironing board, to get the darned thing to work... all resolved now!

Ashley, Shaun and I took a cab back to the apt and got ready for our final appt of the entire process - the US Embassy for the Visa! Once there, it went seamlessly and within about 40 minutes we had everything we need to bring them home! It'd be kinda cool to map out a flow chart of all of the various forms to be signed, documents to be notarized/apostilled, sweaty govt offices to sit in, oaths to be sworn, lines to wait in, photos, medical tests... such a relief to finally be finished!

Although we're now clear to come home as soon as we can get a flight, our timing requires us to wait here until Sunday a.m. when we fly home and go straight to San Diego where we'll meet up with Cher and the kids who are driving down there to meet us for a work convention Cher has. So these kids will get to go to Disneyland within their first few days of being in the U.S. and they are STOKED! (Personally, I rather dislike the place, particularly in the middle of summer when there are lines and a billion people, but I guess I can take one for the team and it will be fun to watch the 4 kids tearing up the place - but Cher is clear that this is going to be my last time for quite awhile - I need to go to Alaska or a surf/dive trip at least a few more times before I have to be submitted to the torture that is Didneyland!).

So Dale and I celebrated our successful day by taking the kids to see a movie at the cinema - initally we hoped to see Karate Kid, but showtime was too late, so they insisted we see StepUp 3D (again, how many points am I scoring here Cher??!) The kids loved it and it was their first 3D movie. This was the first big public setting that we've been able to observe the kids in and Dale and I both commented on how out of control they are! They really have zero sense of social graces and courteousness and I liken them to Tazmanian Devils, tearing through the place, doing whatever they want and oblivious to those around them. Kept having to ssshhhh them in the theater as they were so loud and crazy - please don't think I'm being negative here, just observant of the phonomena of what it must be like to go parentless for so many years. Dale and I are both of the mindset that this is their last chance on their turf and we're going to give them quite a bit of rein. I also like being able to just see them now for how they act and who they are, knowing full well that once home, we'll reel in the reins and establish structure and learning unlike they've never known. They LOVE popcorn and Dale warned me that popcorn is more important to them than the movie - and he was right. I pounded an entire can of Pringles (no time for dinner in order to make movie) and looked forward to some dinner afterwards.

While at the theater/mall, we took Ashley to get a new bathing suit and I'm grateful Cher has already established benchmarks for modesty with her - she walked into one store with 99.5% bikinis and started looking at some to which I gave her the knowing look and she smiled and said "let's go" and we went to the store at which Lena had purchased a nice, modest one piece suit earlier that day. Relief!

After movie we walked to a Ukrainian restaurant and the kids were going richter! Bouncing all over the place, dancing, singing, amped on sugar... and the riotness continued in the restaurant. Good meal and then Ashley, Shaun and I peeled away from Gledhills as our walk back to our apt was further. On the walk home, Shaun was in especially rare form, signing and skipping, listing off the names of each car brand we passed: "Lada, Skoda, Toyota, Volvo... Maserati!" The kid was cracking me up! We called Kayla and Nate and he was more vocal than ever, clearly high on life and willing to try his English more than ever - such a fun kid!

Trip 2 - Day 3

2010-08-12T14:53:00.007-06:00

OK, so I must admit that in addition to missing my sweetheart for the many reasons I do - I'm now even more appreciative of how darned efficient she was on Trip 1 in updating this bloody blog and managing photos so well! I get impatient with the clunky upload speed and will likely scale down the size of a number of photos that need to be added for both this trip and the remaining posts we've yet to publish as I had left the camera in Oleg's car... miss you Cher!

So today, Wednesday, ended up being one of the longest, most difficult, and as is so often the case, most fruitful of days in Ukraine. Up at 4:45 a.m. to meet Oleg and Gledhills for the roadtrip to Kyiv, I readied Ashley and Shaun for their morning alone at the apt until Masha was to arrive at 10:30 to take Ash for a mani/pedi. (I came to later find out they woke up at 7 and took the bus to visit their step sis Ira - wanting to wake her up - clearly they adore Ira and I'm glad to see how important she is to them and vice versa and we'll encourage them to remain in contact.) So we loaded up the car for Kyiv with all of Gledhills stuff and hit the road - again Oleg pushing his poor Suzuki SUV as hard as it would go passing like a madman and making it to Kyiv in sufficient time for our 10 a.m. appt at the Embassy. We were met by our facilitator Natasha at the Embassy and so good to see her, having not seen her since Cher and I first arrived in Kyiv on last trip. She and Oleg coached us regarding the paperwork and then sent us into the Embassy (they don't accompany) and we went through more forms, more signatures, etc - very helpful staff and comforting to see a large map of the US in one of the offices as we entered.

Once we completed the Embassy appt, we got the fanTastic (think Nacho Libre Nate) news that Shaun/Ashley's passports were complete in Sumy and Oleg and I had to race back to get them before the office closed at 5. This was an incredible turnaround and something we didn't anticipate, so we called an audible and decided to race home, get the passports, get the kids and head back to Kyiv so we could make our medical and remaining Embassy appointments before Friday morning. The original plan would've had Oleg and I taking a leisurely drive home for another night in Sumy and then drive back to Kyiv on Thursday. We both agreed that this blessing needed to be capitalized upon (essentially ensured that we'd be able to have everything done prior to the weekend, as opposed to the very real possiblity that it could extend into next Monday/Tues...) so we hugged Gledhills and hit the road, making a quick pitstop at Oleg's house. While home, my amazing Cher arranged to get a large quantity of gluten free food for Oleg's 6 year old son Leon who has autism. We dropped off the food and I was able to meet both Daniel (8) and Leon and we wolfed down a quick bowl of borsch (I truly love this stuff) and were off, racing the 2 lanes to Sumy that have become so familiar. I continually joke Oleg about letting me drive as I genuinely feel bad for all the hours he's logging, and I really would like to help, and he always jokes back, "Oh, Matt... it's OK" For those that know my infamous driving record, I've posted tickets in nearly all of the western states and have even thrown in some New England hot spots like Vermont and New Hampshire just for fun - so why not add Ukraine to the list! Well sure enough, on the way back from Sumy, Oleg got pulled over again (he got a ticket on our first day with him when Cher was here). Bless his heart - I asked him if the officer had any idea of the kind of benevolent work he's involved in, and in true Olegian fashion, he downplayed it and told me not to worry.

So we got back to Sumy just in time to get the passports taken care of, finalized some things at the bank (model of efficiency...not!), I took a quick shower, packed, got kids situated, had final meal at upstairs pizza joint across from apt, bid adieu to Lena (stepmom) and Ira, and Masha and just like that were back on the same road, approximately 14 hours later, back to Kyiv. All told, the distance we drove was about like driving from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, but the vast majority on curvy, bumpy two-lane hwys with all manner of crazy distractions and complications lurking around each curve, whether it be slow trucks/vehicles to pass, herds of cows, ducks, gees, chickens, the sauntering bike riders... this was work. The above mentioned ticket slowed our progress by about 25 minutes and I believe we rolled into Kyiv at about 12:15 a.m. Bravo Oleg on a legitimate 19 hour day. Oleg dropped us off at the same apt Cher and I stayed in on our first trip and it felt good to be in a place I've got down. We got moved in and Ashley decided to take the bedroom (no A/C) while Shaun and I crashed in the living room on the rollout - not surprisingly he loves A/C. Also cute to see his eagerness to take another bathtub (he calls it a jaquzzi, though no jets) - this was 2 nights in a row and evidence that they're such ragamuffins at the orphanage for the most part because their showers are so hammered (and they have no tubs). Oleg is to pick us up tomorrow at 8:30 for the kids' medical appointment, next step in finalizing their Visas. Will upload photos tomorrow.

Trip 2 - Days 1 & 2

2010-08-10T13:28:00.006-06:00

Been running non-stop since Oleg picked me up at the airport in Kyiv yesterday (Monday) a.m. and we immediately drove to Sumy. Good thing Cher and Becky weren't in the car as we made record time and if I ever wondered what a ride on the autobahn must be like, I'm now certain! Arrived to scorching heat of 43 C, which converted is around 109 F, which coupled with Ukraine's humidity made it sweltering! Arrived and went straight to orphanage and got Natasha/Yuri and went to get their new passports in motion - more involved now as the govt has implemented a scanned version like we use in the US, so it takes longer to complete. We had lunch at the pizza/supposed Mexican place (Potato House) and I swear, I need to get behind the counter and show these people how to make salsa! They have all the ingredients to do so yet somehow the menu is void of the stuff. I repeated a mistake I made on the first trip and ordered a "burrito," which had I been smart and remembered how intensely flavored it was with fresh parsely, I would've punted... not that smart. So sure enough, I get the "burrito" and was virtually brought to nausea by the amount of fresh parsely that was squished into this flour tortilla! Slow learner.

That night we had a going away party for the kids with many of their teachers attending - great night. Got to hear Pasha play his flute - amazing talent that kid's got! Natasha's dance teacher was there and emphasized what a great dancer Natasha is and was happy to hear we've got her in dance this fall. Really neat to see how much these teachers genuinely love the kids - Dale, who regularly visits orphanages in Honduras while working down there, took a moment to address all of the teachers and express what a difference he sees in the kids from Sumy, confident, capable... LOVED. It was very heartfelt and I'm sure meant the world to these teachers - most of whom are losing their jobs this fall as the main Sumy orphanage for older kids is being converted to a private school.

I hit the gym this a.m. and was disappointed that Igor was not there, though did enjoy having the entire place to myself - could do those loud pppsssssssttttt noises with each rep which we all wish we could do but out of consideration for the other gym rats, we refrain!

Next came a frustrating 3.5 hour ordeal at the bank - Oleg did his best to navigate through the bureaucracy, but nonetheless, this guy at the bank was set on making a simple transaction virtually impossible!

Natasha/Yuri invited Masha and me to their biological father's apt for a final "dinner" (lunch)with them - we went expecting their Dad and his fiance Lena to be there, but found they weren't planning to attend and were at work, but had prepared us a delicious meal of borsch, salad, salmi and bread, mashed potatoes - and Masha and I brought a cake. Lena's 17 year old daughter Ira was there and helped serve the feast to us. Their apt is on the 7th floor of a building and there is no lift (elavator) so by the time we arrived at the top, I was drenched - and then without A/C in the apt, I just got worse. At one point during lunch (think steaming warm borsch [cabbage soup - I love it, Cher not so much so she's glad she was conveniently not able to attend said fiesta], warm mashed potatoes - I was shocked when the kids offered me a cup of boiling hot tea!), sweat pouring off my forehead and face, Yuri/Shaun grabbed a dish towel and mopped my brow, so observant. Once again, I was leveled in humilty to see that this little family lives in an apt that's less than 1/2 the size of the apt I'm staying in. Soon after our meal, we headed to the lake (with the slide and trampolines) and fortunately, mother nature felt pity for me and delivered a full blown thunderstorm with blasts of lightning and buckets o rain - we walked to the lake from my apt (Natasha/Yura/Ira/Masha), and had to sit out a downpour in a storefront for about 20 minutes. But once at the lake, it cleared and was just right and felt good to get in the water to cool down. Really fun to see how close the kids are with their "step sister" Ira and I learned they've known her for over 5 years. She's a sweetheart and seems excited for them and supportive of their futures in America. You might recall from earlier posts that Natasha/Yuri's Dad is engaged to Lena (Ira's Mom) and they will be married in October.

Finished off the night exposing the kids (both mine and Gledhill's) to sushi, at the restaurant situated in the front of our apt building. Neither Dale or I had been there and were very impressed with the quality of the food - while the service and turnaround time was horrible - took forever to get our food, but once we did, it was great. Barring the slow service, Cher would've loved the food (much more Japanese than just sushi) and would've been a regular. I was impressed with Shaun's willingness to experiment and he tried a piece of my spicy tuna roll... and liked it! He also tried miso soup with lots of tofu and seaweed and liked it - Natasha isn't as daring and backed down from each.

Sorry for the lack of photos - I will download many tomorrow or the next day. I'm cramped for sleep time as Oleg is taking the Gledhills and me to Kyiv tomorrow - Gledhills have completed all needed paperwork here in Sumy and will remain in Kyiv until they're finished - meanwhile Oleg and I will drive back to Sumy tomorrow evening as we're still awaiting passports here in Sumy which we're hoping will be ready Thurs/Friday a.m. Then we too will kiss Sumy goodbye and race to Kyiv. Masha will stay with Ashley and Shaun and take them bowling and to get mani's and pedi's (not Shaun), until I'm home.

Shaun came into my room just now (the only one with A/C) and asked if he can sleep on the couch as it's markedly cooler in here than in the other bedroom - he'll probably freeze as these kids NEVER get to sleep with A/C. As ever, I'm blown away with how tough and resilient they are!

Nite!

Ukraine Round II

2010-08-08T10:50:00.004-06:00

Hi All:

This is Matt and I've officially comandeered the blog away from Cher and will do my best to update this final leg of our adventure (hopefully I won't screw it up too much!). Presently, I'm 35K feet above (probably) Nebraska, headed to NYC where I hope to make my connecting flight to Kyiv (loving this in-flight wireless capability on Delta).

The 2 week home break was appreciated and if I were to list each of the luxuries, indulgences, and quite simply the blessings we enjoy living in the U.S. - that list would exhaust both the reader and my laptop's battery. So for brevity's sake I'll list some of the more poignant ones (not necessarily in order of importance except the 1st two): hugs from Kayla and Nate, seeing my Dad's safe return from Baghdad, seeing all our family at the Miller reunion in Cache Valley, Sadie and Kona's unconditional love, Cher with her chickens, [backpacking with Kayla in the Uintahs - waiting out a summer deluge under pine trees - casting for rising brook trout with bushy dry flies], a houseful of family including Tlusteks, Bob-Suz-Ellie, Shaun/MJ, watching Nate throw his first gainer off the low dive, then high dive, then diving platform #1, then #2..., seeing the CRAZY ultrasound images of baby Luke - WOW!, rocking out to RUSH in concert with my Bros!, riding my mountain bike, real Mexican food, central air conditioning, sleeping in our bed, antibiotics (to cure an ear infection), driving a vehicle, witnessing a service project performed by the young men at church for a newly moved-in family, clean water... and to bookend this list, I must state how grateful I am for 2 orphans in Ukraine who have had the courage and heart to persevere and survive, even flourish, in a setting that would surely break the best of us. How grateful I am for a wife who's capacity to love is boundless and who's drive to pitch in and help as many people as she can humbles me and has led us to this amazing opportunity. How grateful I am for 2 children at home who cannot contain their excitement to get their sister and brother to Draper and begin sharing their lives. How grateful I am for the continual evidence of the Lord's hand throughout this process. Grateful indeed.

I'm excited to arrive in Kyiv and learned this morning that I'll be met by my now dear friend/brother Oleg, our attorney. I have missed him over these past 2 weeks and look forward to our beautiful drive to Sumy.

Little Update

2010-07-25T23:00:00.003-06:00

Hello, All.

Thanks for all of your well wishes and I'm sorry that we haven't posted in several days. We do have each of those days logged and will publish those posts soon, however due to the overall process, we've been asked to hold off on sharing all details until it's complete (I'm sure many of you can relate to how time sensitive and touch-and-go it can be sometimes). Anyway, we are home in America (as of midnight last night) and Matt will return to pick up the kids very soon. All is well, we are SO excited (they are, too!) and we're counting down!

Again, all of the details soon - we promise!!

Love,

The Stockwells

Ukraine Adoption - Day 15 (Sumy)

2010-07-21T02:51:00.020-06:00

OK - so this is Matt, doing my best to go back and recapture the details of where we left off from our first trip, in part complicated by my leaving the camera in Oleg's car so once we got home to SLC, we had no photos to build our story around. So the next several posts will be back in July and then I'll resume with the present day stuff.

Day 15 was a fun day with the kids and Gledhills - we went to the funniest/scariest little amusement park imagineable, it is surely the place all old carnival rides go when they die and go to heaven (or H - E - double hockey sticks [for my son and expletive enforcer, Nate]). I kid you not, many of these clunky rides must be at least 50 years old and appear to be held together by the latest coat of paint (seriously!). The kids just bumped from one ride to the next and thoroughly enjoyed the day - Dale, Becky, Cher and I all grew nauseous watching their antics. I tried to embed a vid of Ashley/Shaun on the ride but realiaed it was taken on my point/shoot and is a 42 meg file, so I won't be downloading that - would crash my fragile little modem setup! Watching these two on the ride was hilarious and I wish we were able to really capture Shaun's face for he truly looked as though he'd spew at any moment, green-faced and all.

The bumper cars were and OSHA hazard and both Dale and I bloodied our knees in the process. Knowing that this was their point of reference, I can only imagine how blown away they were with Lagoon and can't wait to see them at Disneyland (as much as I hate that place).

Ukraine Adoption - Day 14 (Sumy)

2010-07-19T04:05:00.004-06:00

We began Day 14 with a great day at the Sumy branch. Here we are with a couple of the sisters in the branch who interpreted for us... next to me is Natasha, then Katia, then Becky. Katia is leaving in one week for Logan, Utah where she is getting married and settling down. We told her that if she needs anything in Utah, even just girl friends in a new place, to call us!
After church the kids were allowed to be with us outside of the orphanage again, so they came to our home and we had these two missionaries come over. The one on the left, Elder Stirling, is unique to our circumstance as he, too, was in an orphanage in Russia (Siberia) until he was 15, then was adopted to the US to an LDS family in Gilbert, Arizona. He is now on a mission, and we wanted him to talk to the kids. Not so much about joining the church as much as simply relating to them that he, too, had to adjust to 3-hour church, and family life, and school, etc. And he told them that he did not understand when he was first adopted the level of sacrifice that his parents had made to get him, and the opportunities they had afforded him. He says he understands it now, and he helped them prepare for the months and early years in America that are just before them. It was wonderful. The other missionary is also from Russia. He's a convert to the church and his name is Elder Dem'yanov. The kids related well, had some questions and comments, and we were happy that they were paying attention, looking them in the eyes and listening. The elders are so good with the kids - had them laughing and were on their level. They get transferred this week, so we're lucky to have had this time with them!

Outside of our apartment building (any apartment building really) are not only the Babushkas, but also cats (and sometimes dogs). Here is one of our residents... with Pasha and Masha

Natasha and Dad, swimming as usual.

We wanted to get a picture of the lake/park where the kids love to go. This is where they can go down a big bouncy slide for 2 grivna (like 25 cents) and jump on the trampoline for 3 grivna, and then play in the water all they'd like.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 13 (Sumy)

2010-07-17T12:18:00.009-06:00

Nate (left) and his best friend Tyler - Thanks, Afflecks, for showing our boy love while we're away on his birthday! That cake looks delicious! And which of your boys is that in the background?

Kayla and cousin Garrett.

This is Sergei (left) and Dima/"Punya" (right) with Matt.

We were allowed to take the kids out of the orphanage today because we needed to get passport pictures taken (for Natasha, Yuri, Pasha and Lena), so we (us and Gledhills) along with Oleg and Masha got that job done, then went out for pizza and went bowling! This is Yuri waiting for his beverage... and yes, we do realize that it looks like everyone is drinking beer, but that's only because they serve every drink in a tall beer glass at this place.

I love this picture - you'll notice that Natasha puts her hands up like that, for fun, when her picture gets taken. See below.

I love this picture, too - Yuri is such a little cuddler with me, and Natasha is definitely more affectionate than I would have imagined upon first meeting her, when she was more removed and guarded. We can't wait to get these guys home!

Lena & Natasha

These are the "socks" they give you at the bowling alley - more like nylons!! These are Matt's feet (please, people... hairy legs!)... I've never seen him in nylons before!

There go the hands again!

So Day 13... This was SUCH a fun day. The kids had a blast together, and it's been great to get to know the Gledhills better. What great people they are, and what a wonderful family Pasha and Lena are going to. We have such respect for them and are glad to have had this opportunity to spend a little time with them. Pasha proved to be the best bowler, by the way... no surprise there!

**********

A word about our other two kids at home - Kayla & Nate. We miss them immensely, but that goes without saying. I wanted to write today about how completely impressed with them we are. In these last two weeks they have been nothing but selfless, nothing but supportive, accomodating, patient and encouraging. It's so difficult to be away from our kids, as many of you can attest, and then when they truly take care of things back home (including themselves, the home, our animals, the lawn, you name it), we just feel so humbled to be given this opportunity to have them as our children. They have been with grandparents and friends and scout camps these last two weeks, probably feeling bounced around and out of their routine. Yet when we talk on the phone with them all they want to hear about are Natasha and Yuri, and the other children at the orphanage, and us and how we're doing. They have so much love in them that it makes me want to cry. Kayla will send me sweet text messages at night (Utah night time) saying good night and I love you, and she has no idea how that sustains me. They always wants to be sure that we are telling Natasha and Yuri that they love them, and that we not forget! The other day we were in the taxi with the kids and Natasha was teasing that she was going to rub Nate's ears again (that may sound random, but when she was at our home last October, she and Nate were constantly play-fighting... Natasha would sneak up behind him, cup her hands over each of his ears, and then rub back and forth really fast, then she would take off running because she knew Nate would quickly be after her), and cute Yuri says, "I won't let you do that to my brother!" We love the anticipation they have about bonding with new siblings, and we love that Kayla and Nate have established that with them, already.

**********

On another note, I haven't written about my pregnancy on the blog, as this adoption has been so involved and exciting, and I was mainly worried that I'd remain healthy while on this foreign travel, that I haven't yet shared all of the thoughts and feelings going on in my head regarding this sweet baby boy growing in my belly. I'm at 20 weeks now, so the half-way point. Just last week I began to feel him moving and kicking constantly. Not randomly here and there, maybe once a week, like before, but more like several times a day, all day (first thing in the morning, on). I love it; he's my little buddy (Matt calls him my "passenger"), and it's a comfort to me. I still can't believe I'm pregnant. Matt always knew it would happen, but I didn't. I got to the point where I made the choice to believe it was out of my hands, and what was meant to be will be. We focused on adoption and our own precious kids, feeling blessed enough in them. So now that I'm pregnant, and it's actually turning out well, and I've seen his face and his features, and I feel him every day, I feel pretty emotional, and blessed, and honored. And all this concern that I wouldn't find food to eat in Ukraine and would I be ok traveling and running around from place to place was completely unnecessary. We've eaten VERY well, have fresh amazing produce daily, Matt makes my (favorite) french toast and breakfast burritos all the time, and the running around has felt good to me. Nothing to worry about (other than those attractive swollen feet the first day off the long flight, but whatever).

So there's our post for the day. More to come...

Ukraine Adoption - Day 12 (Sumy)

2010-07-16T14:01:00.004-06:00

[Matt writing for first portion]
I'll add a bit of the day-to-day color that continues to make us smile, miss home, and remember what a crazy ride we're on. Knowing that I'd go stir crazy without getting in some exercise while here, we had Masha and Oleg help find a "fitness center" for us, and conveniently, one is located about a block away on the ground floor of an apt building - this gym is named "Hollywood!" I've become an every other day regular and am pleased with the facility which I mostly have to myself. On my first day, the girl working the front desk continued to hover around me as I worked out - I didn't realize my sounds of exertion and heavy breathing differ from those in Russian? I did my best to not crack up and maintain my lazerlike focus... :) This morning while going through my routine, I was joined by a stout man whose body reminds me of an anvil - we exchanged the obligatory "what's up Dude" looks and moved on. Next thing I know, Mr. Bufferunkus interrupts (in Russian) my current exercise and has me follow him into the next room to show me a machine that duplicates the exact move I purposely was doing with free weights... thanks Dude... and so it went for the duration of the morning, during virtually every routine I did, Senor Stout would volunteer pointers, have me adjust my hands here, stance there... sheesh! I did my best to nod, "da," "spasiba (thanks)", etc, but was getting rather bugged as I had zero continuity. At the end of my workout I walked over and bid him farewell and we exchanged names and language barrier goodbyes, at which point he announced he was both a former Mr. USSR and Mr. Ukraine, along the orders of Mr. Universe, etc - and I have to say I'm not surprised - he was very serious about his workout - fun stuff!

Another funny thing happened related to my haircut today - for those that know me and have seen recent photos in this blog, I'm already sporting a very short do - knowing we'd be out of the country for the most part of a month, Cher buzzed it at the end of June - nice cool summer hairdo. So yesterday, I attempted to trim my sideburns in our apt bathroom which conveniently has lights only on the left side of the bathroom mirror, making it tough to get an accurate feel for such an endeavor - and as you can imagine, I ended up shearing several apparent gouges above my right temple. I called Cher in to see if she could salvage it and was told this would require professional help. So today I went into a rather lavish hair salon and got the royal treatment. Masha interpreted via cell phone my desire to "clean up the sides and leave the top as is..." so the woman proceeded to do a great job on the first part, cleaing up sides high and tight, and then after changing clipper guards to a higher #, motioned to me non-verbally, what I thought was her plan to blend the sides, so I nodded in approval, just to have her take the clippers right down the middle of my head (think reverse mohawk)... :( A bit bummed, but it'll grow back - but don't be surprised when you see photos of me as I'm about as close as I've ever been to being "Bic'ed!"

[Cher's writing]
It was a good day, and it was good to see the Gledhill's. Today we just worked from home all morning and then went to see the "Egg Lady" at about 1pm. We have a wonderful taxi driver, Alexsei (we need a picture of him) who has this nice air conditioned Audi, and has become our little buddy. He's so appreciative of us - seriously, I give him a couple dollar (equivalent) tip and he is shocked! Anyway, the egg lady is a local artist here who paints on eggs (typical Ukrainian art) and plates, but who has come to learn of all of the LDS people who travel here, and has painted on eggs replicas of familiar LDS art. It's beautiful; she really is amazing. We had to pick up an order for the Koch's and we placed our own order, as well. Then we met the Gledhill's for lunch and it was nice to reconnect with them re: their crazy and horribly inconvenient journey so far. They still don't have their luggage - it's been 5 days! They have such a good attitude, though, and are troopers. Then we went to the orphanage for just a little while. Today was difficult at the orphanage. Some of the children who don't have families, or who have never been hosted, were pained by the two sets of parents there today (us and Gledhills) here on the trip to take our children home to America. Little Dima/Punya, our little buddy, was found walking alone and crying before we left tonight. We went up to him and he was shy and trying to hide that he was crying. But he confided that he feels alone, and I would imagine that of course he feels this way, watching us here at the orphanage to pick up other children. We can't get him off our mind tonight, and are determined to find little Dima (and the others) a home, a family, a life outside of the orphanage complete with love and opportunities. We've bonded with so many of these kids in the last 9 days... I find myself praying for them all the time. I know we can't adopt everyone, but I'm telling you I wish we could.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 11 (Sumy)

2010-07-16T02:39:00.004-06:00

Today, Matt (who to date has held the title of chief cook and bottle washer [literally, in addition to hunter/gatherer]), has taken the helm as scribe of yesterday's adventures in Sumy. Part of the adoption process includes the adopting family giving the orphanage a gift. In our case, Viktor, the Director, told me he wanted our gift to be a lawnmower as he wants the lawn on the compound to resemble those of the White House. We drove to the neighborhood Husqvarna dealer and after reviewing the various options, Viktor selected a handsome electric mower which we were able to transport in the back of our little Toyota Corolla-sized car. Once back at the orphanage, Viktor and his operations pros set about the work of sourcing several 100' powercords and then invited the entire group (Cher, Masha, me and kids) to see the mower in action - see above!

Next on our list of to-do's was a return to the river nearest the orphanage for some swimming. Above is Dima hucking a front flip from the svelt platform situated in the mud and providing a nearly stable base from which to perform tricks. I'm continually amazed and inspired by the resourcefulness of these kids as they make the most of what they've got or nature has to offer them. In the above photo, the trained eye will notice a small board propped against the diving platform - this board, encrusted with rusty nails on it's side, is the "stairway" which we used to climb atop. This requires dexterity and coordination, and works perfectly and how fun to watch each of the kids scurry up the plank - and funny to see how concerned they were that I might break the plank as I followed them. This day was quite warm with little breeze so the water felt refreshing. Fish nerd that I am, I'm blown away by the amount of life lurking in this river - literally millions of "guppy-sized" fish cruise in massive schools along the shores and whenever we're swimming, they tickle our legs - and you wonder why Cher refuses to get in? Speaking of sweet, adorable, pregnant Cher - she is such a good sport as she does her best to support the kids in whatever activity they want to do, and yet yesterday proved to be a long, hot day for her sitting beneath a tree's shade, talking with Masha and Jula. She really needed a nap and it would've been nice for her to be in an air conditioned locale, but she toughed it out. I hope to have her wade in the water next time to help cool her core body temperature (and will convince her that the guppies exude positive growth energy for babies in mommys' tummies).

Above you see Yur performing a backflip - this brings back funny memories for me of Nate, who at age 5 or 6, in SoCal, was enamored with the idea of trying a backflip on the tramp. One day I walked into the backyard to see this brick of a child attempting such, only to land flat on his head in an extremely neck-breaking-like manner. Not surprisingly, he worked through the mechanics and soon mastered the trick. Yuri has shown the same persistence and athletic aplomb as he pushed through his fear and nailed the backflip - going bigger and farther with each attempt. Somehow, I think Nate and Shaun will do just fine...

Ah, and now I must write of things fishing. Above is Pasha with one of a few "perch" looking fish we caught with his new fishing outfit. As alluded to above, this river teems with life and I'm trying to learn of the various fish types and members of the proverbial food chain. There are numerous bugs, both surface and in the water, many frogs (some big and brightly colored), tadpoles, the aforementioned guppies, a smaller fish than the above perch, and then these perch, which live in deeper water (I've not seen them hitting the surface for flies, as there is so much nutrition below, why would they?). Pasha is showing all signs of sharing the same madness I do for fishing and we're already planning trips in Utah to get him into some quality fishing. This is an exceptional young man and I'm grateful we'll be able to continue our association with him as I know he will be an on-going influence for good with Natahsa, Yuri (and me).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Gledhill's (still without their luggage) arrived with Oleg in Sumy late last night and we will rendezvous with them today. Thanks to Oleg for the quick turnaround time in getting our paperwork with the SDA while he was in Kyiv - he's proving to be the Energizer Bunny and blows us away with his work ethic and tenacity. We got home to the apartment, and per a special request by Momma Prego, I prepared her a meal of saturated french toast with fresh fruit and the requisite Ukrainian "salad:" tomatoes and cucumbers, drizzled with balsamic. Another good day indeed.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 10 (Sumy)

2010-07-15T03:01:00.003-06:00

There's this crooked/slanted bridge from the school to a little store nearby - it's pretty, but a little scary.
It was Pasha's birthday yesterday and the kids had planned for a picnic by the lake (they had taken their own money and bought pork, cakes, sausage, cheese, bread and soda) and wanted us to come with them. We are continually impressed with how these kids look out for each other. They could have done anything they wanted with their money, but they spent it on Pasha's birthday, even buying him gifts. We asked the kids what Pasha would like for his birthday, and they said a fishing pole (we saw him out at the lake a few days before, fishing with some sort of stick or pole) and that gift was right up Matt's alley (will not surprise those of you who know Matt and how much he fishes). Masha helped us find a fishing store and we bought Pasha a fishing pole, reel, etc. (a basic set up). He loved it and was so surprised! We also bought some extra food for the picnic and met them in the afternoon. It was a late night but a lot of fun!

Yuri and Roma manning the fire.

The Gledhill's arrived in Kiev tonight and we spoke with them on the phone. The kids were so excited to hear they had arrived! Unfortunately, they were delayed and re-routed through Rome, and don't have their luggage yet. And their SDA appt. is today! Becky was on her way to find them new toothbrushes to get them through. Pray that their luggage will arrive promptly!!

Ukraine Adoption - Day 9 (Sumy)

2010-07-15T02:05:00.005-06:00

On Day 9 we worked from the apartment all morning and went to the orphanage in the afternoon. The kids wanted to go to the lake and swim again, so off we went. On the walk back we passed this adorable couple working in their yard and Matt asked if he could take their picture. The woman smiled and got a little flustered and removed then re-applied her scarf... so cute. The man was strong in his older age - he was lifting heavy stuff without a problem!

On the walk back from the lake the kids picked apples and we took a picture. We also went into a little store where Shelby (Ira) McDougal's aunt works, and she asked all about Shelby! She almost started to cry as I told her how well she is doing, that we see her in Utah, that she sings and is happy. We asked her aunt if we could take her picture, and she asked if we would come back another day when Shelby's other aunt would also be there, and we could take both of their pictures. We got her phone number and will call her today.

I love how Yuri always puts his arm around me when we walk.

Matt found some Tabasco sauce (he's been missing "spicy" while here) and the kids wanted to put some on their fingers and taste it - especially Lena! She kept saying "on chips" remembering chips and salsa.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 8 (Sumy)

2010-07-12T14:41:00.006-06:00

These are the parents of the puppies. I can't help but feed them because I know they don't get enough to eat!
Here's our sweet Masha - she's our interpretor while in Sumy and we adore her. She and I have lots in common, we're finding. She appreciates healthy food, doesn't like orange juice (but like me, loves all other juies), and is detail oriented. She loves these kids as much as we do, and they love her, too. She has been such a help to us, and we are so impressed with her English skills. She translates our legal documents as well as helps us at the grocery store; she's all we need, but more importantly, she's our newest friend.

Dad and Yuri (I guess we can start writing Shaun)

Marina!

Natasha/Ashley

Matt and Dima (also call him "Punya" - it's a shortened version of his last name)

Yuri

We have been very touched by how much the director of the orphanage, Victor (pictured about with Natasha and Yuri), loves the kids, and how well they respond to him, too. They go running up to him when they see him, and we wanted to get a picture of him before we left. He's known these children for a very long time.

So now that the weekend is over we were able to get back to the business of the adoption. We are in the process of being assigned a judge for our case so that Oleg can return to Kiev and get the paper he needs from the SDA to proceed. Oleg has been working tirelessly for us, and is just constantly running around and talking on the phone. The inspector, Valeria, finished our conclusion (I think it's called) today, as well, so we are on track with our plan.

Today we played UNO with the kids for a long time, and were at the orphanage all afternoon. We stop at the market and bring them some sort of treat every day (ice cream bars, chips, etc.). Maybe we should try to be more healthy, but lets be honest... when I was kid I totally wanted an ice cream bar on a hot summer day. And these days are unbearably hot.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 7 (Sumy)

2010-07-11T13:38:00.005-06:00

Today we began with church at 10am in the Sumy branch, which was a wonderful experience. Pictured above from left to right are: Elder Dem'yanov (from Russia), Aleksei (I'll tell you his story in a minute), Matt, Cher, Elder Stirling (who was also adopted from an orphanage at age 15 and is now serving his mission!), Elder Young from California and Elder McArthur.

Aleksei's story really touched us today and has been on our minds all day. Aleksei is deaf, and knows Russian Sign Language and can also read lips (in Russian) very well. He converted to the church 15 years ago, and as a result, his wife left him and forbid him to see their daughter. She was 15 the last time he saw her. As if this wasn't enough, Aleksei rides his bike 3 hours to church each Sunday, without fail, and then 3 hours back home, as the Sumy branch is the closest to his home. We just couldn't believe the sacrifice he has made for his testimony of the gospel. He has been to the temple only once (Germany is the closest) and he is so excited to go this summer to the new Kiev temple. We watched him pay his tithing, and we watched a sweet sister in the ward come sit by him to write notes on paper while the church speakers gave their prepared talks. He is the kindest man, and was so pleasant and optimistic/joyful to talk to. We look forward to seeing him each Sunday.
This is me outside the door of the church.

After church we picked up the kids and took them out for the day. They wanted McDonald's (of course), and then we spent the afternoon at a park on a lake. They quickly and without hesitation jumped into the water and played. It was a very fun day.

And these sweet ladies are our babushkas... they sit outside of our apartment building each afternoon/night and visit with each other. Oleg, our facilitator, calls them the building "alarm system" as they would make the biggest scene if anyone were to try any funny business. We asked if we could take a picture with them and they all passed around the camera afterward to look at the picture. They were so cute.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 6 (Sumy)

2010-07-10T12:56:00.007-06:00

Once again, I uploaded pictures in a random order but oh well! Ok, so today is Day 6 and tonight we had dinner with Oleg at a great restaurant on a river with bridges and beaches and lots of families pushing strollers on a perfectly pleasant summer evening. This followed a PERFECT day at the orphange with all the kids. More below...

This is a cute tradition - young couples will put a lock on the bridge symbolizing their devotion to each other, and then throw the key over the railing into the water beneath. It's sweet.
Lots of pictures today of our fun day with the kids...

Pasha, Oleg, Cher

Lena, Marina, Matt, Yuri, Pasha

Dema with one of the puppies

Marina and Cher with the puppies

Yuri and Dema (we fell in love with Dema - what a sweet/special boy. We need to find a family for him!!)

Lena - what a beautiful girl

Yuri took this picture of me and was quite proud of himself. He kept showing it to me.

Matt played in the lake with the kids all afternoon - there was this wooden platform they would dive off of and they were hilarious!! Matt commented on the simplicity and pureness of the joy of these kids. When he walked with them to the lake they were just so smiley and would just reach up to the above branches and pick an apricot off and eat it as they walked. They would laugh with each other and play well together. We noticed the longer we stayed there today, that the group that hung out with us got larger and larger, and it was so much fun to get to know each of these kids individually. Matt was just another one of the kids (that will come as no surprise to all who know him) and he didn't want to stop swimming just like the rest of them didn't!

Yuri

While the boys played soccer the girls played with a volleyball. They taught me all of these games, my favorite of which is call (translated from Russian) "Invalid Person" and was seriously hysterical. You form a circle and pass the volleyball across to anyone in the cirle, and if someone misses, or if the receiver doesn't pass it on, then that person who messed up has to "lose" a body part - like put one arm behind their back or only balance on one foot or close one eye. Pretty soon people were down on their knees because they'd lost the right to both legs, and these kids were playing the game with one eye shut and an arm behind their back - it was so funny to look around at all of them! We played some other games, too, and it was fun to see them laugh so much.

Here are the boys playing soccer. Matt and Yuri are in the center.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 5 (Sumy)

2010-07-09T14:26:00.006-06:00

Today the children had to write their official letters declaring that they do want to be adopted, and go with us back to America. It was fun to learn that Natasha is a "righty" and Yuri is a "lefty." They both have very beautiful handwriting, and we can tell that Natasha is an artist.

This is Natasha's classroom

Yes, Nate and Kayla, I've actually USED these several times... impressed?

The orphanage has several goats and Dad befriended this little guy. I only had almonds and dried cherries in my backpack, but he ate 'em up. Yuri and Natasha did NOT want to go near him.

There are dogs all around the property, as well, and they had puppies (we saw the "proud parents" nearby). There were also kittens.

Day 5 began with an appointment at the notary's office at 8am. Notary's in Ukraine are a little more of a bigger deal than our notary's back home - it's just a more involved process and is a full time profession, as opposed to something you do in conjunction with your regular job. And this particular office cracked us up as there were nothing but young, beautiful females working there and they were all dressed up (like going-out-to-a-fancy-dinner dressed up). It was so noticeable and kinda funny. Anyway, they were very nice and after our appointment we went on to the tax building to fill out some forms. Oleg left us there as he had to take Natasha and Yuri to the clinic for some doctors appointments. Masha stayed with us at the tax office and then took us to pick up a few "necessities"... like new pillows. We were very happy to have them! In our first apartment our pillows were just fine, but for some reason, the place where we'll be in Sumy for the month doesn't have the best of pillows (and that's putting it nicely) so it was worth the investment. We got some lunch (pizza and salad's - very good) and went back to the apartment to wait for Oleg. When he returned we went back over to the orphanage to see the kids, and to have them write their official letters declaring that they do want to be adopted. They were so cute, and didn't hesitate (see above picture).

I also forgot to mention that yesterday Natasha and Yuri selected their new American names. As you know, Natasha had mentioned "Ashley" when she was at our home last fall. As she didn't like any of the names on our list, and since she mentioned the name Ashley again, we went with it. It's not that we don't like the name - Ashley is a perfectly great name - it's just that we have lot's of them in our family so it wasn't one of our considerations. But we want her to be happy, and she also really likes her name Natasha as well, so she may go by both (that may sound confusing, but Natasha said that she doesn't call her friends in Utah by their new American names, but by their Ukrainian ones, so they also go by two names from time to time). For Yuri, he liked Shaun, Jeff and John the most, and ultimately decided on Shaun. Since we have a Shaun in my family, I can't imagine spelling it the traditional S-E-A-N when I grew up with an S-H-A-U-N... And Yuri doesn't care either way. So ladies and gentleman, we give you Ashley Natasha Stockwell and Shaun Yuri Stockwell!!! We love it and we love that it's what they chose.

Tomorrow we have an interesting day ahead of us as we meet Natasha and Yuri's biological dad. He is not contesting anything, and gave up his rights to his kids a while ago, but it's more of a courtesy, and Natasha and Yuri do want to keep track of him in their lives. We fully support that, and made sure they know that. More to come...

Ukraine Adoption - Day 4 (Sumy)

2010-07-09T13:27:00.005-06:00

Natasha, Yuri, Cher - Sumy orphanage on the first day we saw them!

Natasha, Yuri, Viktor, Vlad

Marina saying hello from her bedroom window

We're so excited to take these kids home!

Yuri on his bed

Excited Mom and two cool kids

Pasha and Lena (Gledhill) - so much fun to see them again!

Marina right when we first saw her at the orphanage - so cute!

This says Sumy, believe it or not. This sign is just as you enter the city.

Oleg took us to a great "grill" for breakfast on the road to Sumy.

This is the fun post - the post where we get to talk about seeing our Natasha and Yuri (and Yuri for the first time ever, for that matter). Our joy is full, and I even get teared up as I type this.

On Day 4 we awoke at 4am to pack up and get ready for a 5:30am pick up time to head to Sumy. We said goodbye to our cute little apartment/neighborhood in Kiev and Oleg loaded us his very comfortable Suzuki SUV. He told us that we would stop to eat breakfast around 8:30am (the above restaurant picture of me and Oleg). Once outside of Kiev, we were blown away by the fact that it's 100% farmland on the drive to Sumy. Matt and I both noticed the very rich/dark soil and constant fields of agriculture (Kayla, we'll photograph the sunflowers on the drive back - they were in full bloom and there were massive acres of them - you would have loved it). It took us about 4-5 hours total and we picked up our interpreter, Masha, at the Sumy McDonald's (of all places), where I at least was able to use an above-the-ground toilet. Masha is great and very helpful - we'll post a picture of her tomorrow. From there we went straight to the Inspector's office - her name is Valeria and she has also become a frequent companian and very kind part of the team. With it being her birthday on Wednesday, Oleg was sure to bring her flowers to our appointment. They work together a lot and she is very helpful. She is a very pretty lady who is well dressed and conducts herself so professionally. We were impressed with her. She told us later that afternoon that Ukrainian's don't always express what they think/feel about people, but that she was very happy to meet us and liked us very much.

From her office we all got back into Oleg's car and traveled to the orphanage. Matt and I were like anxious kids on our way to Disneyland as we were SO excited to see Natasha and Yuri!! We pulled into the orphanage and I recognized the front door from the video that Arri had made for us in the very beginning, back in October. It was surreal to finally be there!!! We saw Marina immediately as we exited the car and ran over to her to give her a hug and to deliver the letter from the MacBeth's. She was adorable! We also saw Pasha and Lena immediately, who also came to say hello. We took pictures of all of this (above).

When we got there we had an appointment with Victor, the school director. He is very nice - liked us from the start and made pleasant conversation. He asked us questions about ourselves (how many children at home, etc.) and told us more about the orphanage and his position. Then Yuri entered the room - I got up from my chair and went right up and hugged him! He was smiling from ear to ear with his adorable dimples. Then Matt hugged him too and he gave us the best hugs in return. He took a seat at the table and they asked him if he wanted to be adopted, and with that same huge smile he interrupted them before they even finished the question and said "yes!" We were hoping that Natasha would arrive at this time but she was coming back from summer camp. So we finished our meeting with the director and walked back out to the car, telling Yuri that we were going to go finish some paperwork while we waited for Natasha and would be back after dinner. He joined his friends, but looked back at us several times as we parted. It was so cute to see that his excitement mirrored ours.

We went to the pre-school, where the Director also has an office as he is the director of both, and spoke with the doctor, who gave us a verbal medical history of both children (Masha translating the whole time, of course). Then we met again with the director, the inspector, Oleg, Masha, me and Matt to review other documents. The director asked us where our current children were while we were in Ukraine, and we explained that they were with their grandparents. He asked us WHICH grandparents, so we explained that Kayla and Nate's mom, Matt's first wife, passed away several years ago, and that we are very close with her family. Each summer Kayla and Nate go to their home in California for a week to see them, and their many cousins, and that trip coincided perfectly with our Ukraine trip. The director, Victor, looked saddened at the loss of Kara, and very sincerely looked at Matt in sympathy, and Matt thanked him. It was very kind.

After that meeting we got some dinner - our first not-so-great meal. It was considered a Mexican restaurant, but it really wasn't. Matt still hasn't gotten over his "burrito" but he'll survive. He's just picky because he makes amazing Mexican food at home, so the food critic comes out in him from time to time!! We then headed back to the orphanage, knowing that Natasha was finally back from camp.

When we got there they said that she was in the building where they slept, so we walked over there to find her. She was shy!! She was hiding in a bedroom nervous to come out - so Matt went in to give her a hug and bring her out to us in the hallway. She was making her typical Natasha squeals and I recognized her voice immediately. Yuri of course had no problem coming out adn was all smiles. So Matt brings her out of the room and she's covering her eyes and smiling in shyness and I just walked right up to her and said "hi, Natasha" and gave her a huge hug, and she hugged me back for a long time. She looked great - happy and smiling and excited. She was sunkissed, having just come from camp. We saw Pasha and Lena again, as well as Rita, Marina and Vlad. We also saw two cute boys we'd never met; both named Viktor. They are 11 and adorable. In typical summer fashion, the kids were all running around with wet hair and in bare feet. Matt high-fived the guys and they remembered him well. We chatted for a bit with the group and then made our way to a gazebo like bench area where we just spent time with the 5 of us for a while, while Oleg made some calls and arrangements. Natasha showed a very sweet and vulnerable side as she said things to us like, "I can't believe you're finally here" and was very verbal and happy. We spent a long time there, took the pictures you see above, and got reaquainted all over again. We didn't want to leave. Yuri even said that we should just stay there at the orphanage with them.

Tomorrow is another day of appointments... we need to start by 8am.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 3 (Kiev)

2010-07-09T12:53:00.004-06:00

These pictures are a little bit out of order, but that's how they uploaded and I'm way too tired to rearrange them. On Day 3 we were able to pick up our SDA letter in the afternoon, and this cathedral is on the way there. It's been around since the 11th century (as have many of the cathedrals in Ukraine). We learned that our facilitator, Natasha, is really REALLY smart... she studied a lot in school and gave us tons of history and details that made our walks interesting. She even gave US a history of our English language... stuff we'd never heard of before. Love it.
Cher and Natasha

What you can't tell in the photo is that our taxi ride from the LDS temple was frightening... and completely uncomfortable. I won't bother going into detail about the smell of our driver, but when it began pouring down rain and the passenger side window would not roll up, and Matt got drenched (only to have the taxi driver pull out a dirty rag and proceed to first wipe off the window ledge (which was only going to keep getting rained on so why wipe it) but he then draped that dirty/wet rag onto Matt's arm, as if to shield him from getting wet... again, the rag itself was WET...). Anyway, he was an interesting man who scared me to death with his driving skills. I thought we weren't going to make it, seriously (not to mention the horrible music he played loudly the whole time). Then he asked us about being Mormons (as we were going to the temple) and asked how many wives Matt had. He then said that he saw a TV show about Mormon's and that they grew long beards and pulled buggy's and didn't use zippers - and where was Matt's beard? Natasha explained to him that Mormon's were not the same as the Amish.

The LDS Temple in Kiev is almost finished and is, as usual, absolutley beautiful. The taxi driver asked "who the man is on the top of the pole" and we tried to explain to him that he is an angel, which only made him ask us why he didn't have wings? We continued to answer him but have no idea how much he registered.

We were not only going to visit the Temple but had a package to drop off (and another to pick up) for Elder Alex Larsen, a missionary from our home stake (and one of Matt's all time favorites) who is currently serving in the Ukraine Kiev Mission. His family gave us a package and we came to the temple grounds because that is also where the mission office is. We met some great people (a couple from Washington state, a missionary from England and another from Idaho). Natasha knows a lot about our religion, which isn't surprising seeing as that she helps so many families from Utah adopt these sweet kids. When you spend week after week with them you come to understand and learn a lot about their religion and culture. She asked very intelligent quesitions and shared with us a lot about her religious and spiritual search in her own life. She's an amazing girl with much wisdom.

Here we are outside of the mission office with the temple in the background. Natasha is on the left and you can't miss me because my pregnancy is truly beginning to show - not in the cute way, but more like the stage where it just looks like I've eaten a few too many milkshakes (which I have not, by the way... I am very proud of how well I've eaten thank-you-very-much). I just can't wait until I look more like a pregnant person and not just thick. I need to get over it.

This day we also ate more great Ukrainian food - we are seriously blown away at how great it is. I was expecting difficulty and instead have been spoiled. At dinner time we were introduced to Oleg, the other facilitator who we would be passed-off to, so to speak, as Natasha handles the Kiev side, and bright and early on Day 4 we would be heading to Sumy (a 4+ hour drive where the orphanage is). We had dinner with Natasha and Oleg, became familiar with him and discussed next steps. We had an appointment with the "Inspector" of the Sumy orphanage before lunch the next day, so we had to get on the road early. Oleg is wonderful, and I'm not surprised. They really know how to treat these families that come to adopt - they understand so much about our expectations, or lack thereof, and guide and direct us so thoroughly. We are so grateful that we chose to work with this agency.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 2 (Kiev)

2010-07-09T12:39:00.003-06:00

On Day 2 we had to be at our SDA (State Department for Adoption) by 10am, so Natasha arrived at 9:40am and we walked over together. The appointment went smoothly - we simply had to talk with a psycologist and review Natasha and Yuri's file together, produce our passports, and let Natasha handle the paperwork. We did learn an interesting fact, though... our Natasha is a year younger than we had thought all along! Somewhere her real age got lost in translation and I have been going around telling everyone for the last 8 months that I'm going to have 2 sets of twins at home now - two girls at 15 (Kayla turns 15 in August and we thought Natasha followed her in November) and two boys at 12. Ooops. Her birthday is actually in 1996 not 1995, so she's 13 now, turning only 14 in November. This is JUST fine by us... the more time we get with her in the home before she graduates high school the better!

After the SDA appointment we went to get some money exchanged, our sim cards loaded on our phones, and a wireless internet card for our computer. We had lunch (trying to get as exposed to Ukrainian food as we can while we're here) at another great place that served food cafeteria style, and Natasha explained all of the traditional dishes to us. We were informed that our letter from the SDA would be ready the next day. Natasha showed us around the city a little bit, but then I noticed that my feet were huge (swollen) - and I hadn't noticed that yet. Probably a combination of the flight/altitude and my pregnancy. I called my doctor at home, as well as my mom, and was given the same advice (gotta love when mom's are as smart as doctors)... drink lots of water and elevate. While elevating I did some work on the computer. Elevating did the trick and then we went to dinner to an Italian place where we had phenomenal pizza's and a greek salad. I am in love with all of the fresh produce around here - since Matt and I love to garden, we have noticed repeatedly the produce as well as the dark Ukrainian soil. We parted ways again and had plans to meet up the next day.

Ukraine Adoption - Day 1 (Kiev)

2010-07-09T12:15:00.003-06:00

On Day 1 we arrived in Kiev at approximately 6pm local time and dealt with a LONG customs line. After passing through, finding a restroom, and collecting our bags (all present!), we finally arrived to the place at the airport where "someone would be holding a sign that says STOCKWELL." It was our facilitator, Natasha, and we were so happy to be welcomed by someone expecting us. Natasha became our fast friend, and we were immediately in good hands. She showed us to the van and once we got inside she had a bag of groceries for us - which was perfect because we were starving. We got into our apartment in Kiev and then Natasha took us to a restaurant called Reprise where we had an excellent meal. It was right across the street from our apartment and we loved it. Back at our apartment we were able to call Natasha and Yuri with (facilitator) Natasha's help. We only got Natasha on the phone, but that was still so exciting! She knew we were coming and it was so cute. We had to ask her to start considering name choices, and we told her the ones we had in mind. Of course she liked NONE of them, but that's ok... we knew she'd mentioned the name Ashley when she was in our home, and she brought it up again on the phone. It's not that we don't like the name Ashley - we do - it's just that we know many of them (I have a cousin and a niece named Ashley - just spelled differently). Truth of the matter is, we want her happy, and it's a perfectly great name. She asked to think of some others for another day. For Yuri, she said that SHE will think of a name for him (which we thought was funny... she's so used to being his boss). We were open to hearing what she/they come up with, but weren't afraid to let HIM have a voice in this, too. We were very tired, so Natasha reviewed for us the plans of the next day and we went to bed.

Mons Monson Family Reunion 2010

2010-07-09T12:09:00.003-06:00

Each Memorial Day we hold our annual Mons Monson Family Reunion in American Fork. Dad has been the host for the last few years and I've helped him. It's great to learn the history of our family, sing songs in Swedish, and reconnect with our cousins in the area. For more photos and videos, see the Mons Monson Family Reunion blog linked to this one.

Tami (Thompson) and Ben Wright and Family Move to Ohio!

2010-07-09T11:32:00.002-06:00

Before my cousin Tami and her husband family (and their adorable kids) moved to Ohio in June, we had them over one Saturday afternoon to our home to say goodbye. I love my beautiful cousin and will miss having her close, running into her at political events, and sharing in her amazing warmth and spirit. It was also wonderful to have her dad, Uncle John, join us. I don't get to see enough of him! Stay in touch while in Ohio, guys! We love you!

Annual DC Trip - May 2010

2010-07-07T13:22:00.007-06:00

Sarah made an impressive lunch for us - we were spoiled!

Matt and Jim Bringhurst chillin' out on the lawn at Mt. Vernon

Nate, Maddie, Jim, Matt, Nate, Cher, Richelle Hobbs, Kayla (so fun to have Richelle there)!

Changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetary

Congressman Herger's office - I miss my old staff and boss!
Nate and Kayla at the World War II Monument

This year for our annual DC trip we brought Nate and Kayla. On the first day, our friend Jill Chappel, who works for CNN, gave us a great tour, and Nate loved the control room. Here's Nate also with the Wright Brother's - as he played Orville Wright in his school play this year.

Kara's Birthday 2010

2010-07-07T13:03:00.002-06:00

On March 9th we celebrated another birthday for Mommy Kara, and this year we surprised the kids with something really special. We set up a Facebook page in Kara's name and "friended" all of her high school, college, California and Utah friends as well as her family, and they sent her messages and wrote on her "wall" and relayed stories to the kids that they could read. The kids loved it and it was a special way to feel close to her on her birthday. It's not easy to think of gifts that we can give to her on this day, but this idea is one I know that she would love.

Shaun's Visit and Speech/Screening at UVU - March 29, 2010

2010-04-15T19:19:00.005-06:00

Shaun was invited to speak at Utah Valley University a couple of weeks ago and to show a screening of Earthlings, and then stay for a question & answer portion at the end. He did such a wonderful job! I've heard Shaun speak before and am still always in awe of how well he delivers the message and how simple he keeps it. Many of our family and friends came to hear him s0 it was a fun family reunion of sorts, to boot. We actually decided to stay and watch the film, then listened to the audience's questions. Afterward we all went out to dinner at PF Chang's and were so glad to have Shaun in our neck of the woods. Thanks for teaching us so much, Brother!

Matt's Birthday!

2010-01-04T18:41:00.004-07:00

More Pictures of Natasha & Yuri!!!

2010-01-04T18:03:00.002-07:00

Another family was able to take a package to Natasha and Yuri and they took pictures (just 2 days ago)!

Family Pix 2009

2009-12-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

Natasha & Yuri!!!

2009-12-15T17:05:00.006-07:00

This is Natasha & Yuri just last week! We're so excited to see them, we're seriously going nuts!

(that's the hat Nate sent back for Yuri - we love that he's wearing it!)

A couple of years ago, and the first picture we saw of him.

Natasha's arrival, October 17, 2009. Thanks to Ryan for interpreting!

Reunited with her best friend, Shelby/Ira!!

The beautiful halloween girls! Natasha, Kayla, Shelby

Shaun's 40th Birthday Party & Our Weekend in So. Cal.

2009-09-20T22:29:00.000-06:00

Noah, Kayla and Nate (and Kayla and Nate learned how to surf! Noah already knew how...)!

Our friends the Hathaway's and our Monson cousins

Rodney and Leslie, Shaun, Mira and Perri

Kayla's even beautiful draped in seaweed

It's becoming a tradition for us to visit our dear friends Bob and Ladorna on our California trips. I love these two so much and miss seeing them often.

Yes, we've got chickens...

2009-09-20T22:16:00.001-06:00

Matt has worked so hard on this coop, chicken run and chicken yard. Kayla and I painted it like a barn - we love it and so do the chickens. We wanted them to feel like this is their home and they definitely do!
Matt built a fence and sectioned off a corner of our backyard for the chicken yard so that they can free range.

Matt named this one Breakfast... and no, he's not eating her for breakfast, ever.

These are our pets.
This is Ruby - she's so friendly. All of our chickens will let you hold them and most of them will come right up to you if they know you.

Kayla and (I think) Santa.

Mango and Cupcake

Breakfast again. She's the 1st in the pecking order and is very cute and protective. The first night they were all at their new home, Breakfast literally spread out her wings and the 5 others huddled under them. Three of the chickens came from a different farm so this was so sweet that she took them in and helped them feel safe. They are hilarious, silly things to watch.

The black one is Princess Leia.

(Matt says, "get it... Princess "lay"-a...")

Kona & Sadie

2009-09-20T22:06:00.001-06:00

Need I say more? These dogs are beloved in our house. Kona is 4 and our recent adoptee, and Sadie is 2, and loves her new "brother."

Our 2009 Garden

2009-09-20T18:42:00.000-06:00

So our first garden in 2007 failed miserably. Since then I've done a ton of homework and this year our garden took off! It's been a blast and Matt and the kids are wonderfully helpful. We are harvesting tomatoes, canteloupe, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, crook neck squash, watermelon, pumpkins, gourds, parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano and spearmint. We are harvesting about 10 pounds of tomatoes a day at this point, and we can't keep up! But we love it! Needless to say, we've had lots of homemade marinara sauce, cream of tomato soup, etc.

May 2009 in Washington, DC

2009-09-20T18:19:00.000-06:00

We do love that we get to go back to DC each spring, and it's wonderful to reconnect with friends!

Alex & Camille, Kory, Cher & Matt, Brooke & Mark, Tatiana, Jessie

Arlington National Cemetary

One of my favorite pictures!

Our DEAR dear friends, the Piantanida's

Jill, Caroline, Margaret and me at the fave restaurant, Carlyle

My introduction to Georgetown Cupcake... thanks, Caroline!

Family Reunion 2009

2009-09-20T17:54:00.000-06:00

Noah

Kayla and Asher

Mira Jade

Noah, Mira, Kayla

Noah and Kayla

Mira

This summer my family gathered in St. George with my mother's side of the family. I only have a few pictures but I will add others when they get emailed to me. We had a great time, though!

Nate's Snowmobiling Video - His 1st Cornice!!

2009-05-24T21:13:00.000-06:00

Shaun and Emily in Town, February '09

2009-05-24T20:07:00.000-06:00

Mira and her grandpa on a ski lift.
Mira did an AWESOME job on skis for the first time! Go Mira!

Mira, you have the best dad in the world - he even helped ME a lot as I was learning to ski!

Very cute cousins.

Favorite man in my life, and a close second!

Shaun and Nate charging Solitude.

Shaun, MJ, Dad, Cher, Nate, Matt, Kayla

Mira and Shaun on a snowmobile up at Daniel's Summit!

And that would be Matt...who else would take a jump and be able to look at the camera at the same time (okay, maybe Nate).

PG-13 snowmobile-style.

Not that you can tell, but this is Kayla, Shaun, Nate, Emily and Mira.

Cher and Emily - LOVE you, Emily!

Mira and Kayla - crazy Mira and Kayla.

And with helmets off - Kayla, Matt, Nate, Cher, Emily, Shaun, Mira

Nate goes large. Yes, the kid is 10...and on a 450 lb. snowmobile. Oh my...

Matt's Birthday Party - February 28th (obviously not on his actual b-day)

2009-05-24T19:10:00.000-06:00

Of COURSE there was a little "incident" with Pete and the snowmobile... Notice he's in the trees... snowmobile's are not supposed to be PART of the trees. Love ya, Pete!
Matt and Jared - if it's not surfing it's something in the snow. I've only ever seen these two together when they're doing at least one of those things...

This is part of what made Matt's birthday so perfect.

Jared.
Matt and Syd...aka "squidums"

Brothers Stockwell

Jill, Becs, Matt, Cher, Abby, Chris

Anyone who knows Matt knows he loves Rice Krispy Treats... enough to want them for his birthday cake. Goes against everything Martha Stewart in me... but I'll do it for love.

Could anyone have serenaded Matt better for his birthday than Paul Jacobsen? If you haven't seen Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm, you MUST. Thanks, Paul! Your rendition of The Cars' Just What I Needed truly made the party.

Abby and Chris

Jones' and Swainston's

Adam, Nicole, Jared and Tresa

The beloved Rice Krispy Treats cake

Jon and Debbie

And to perfect the night even further, Scott and his famous sushi skills.

Ryan, Marianne and Debbie

Happy Birthday, Matt! I hope you felt loved and adored!!! Your family and friends think the world of you and want you to know that you don't look a day over 30....!!

Webber Holiday Party, December 21, 2008

2009-01-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

Nancy & Steve's clan!
Cher & Tre

Our crazy clan... normal picture to follow. Check out Connor!

There you go.

The Thompson clan (and thank you for hosting us at your home Layne & Carly)!

Awww... cute John and Tre

Nancy, Mom & Uncle Rick

Twilight Night

2009-01-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

The movie Twilight premiered in November and Matt and I bought 10 tickets so that Kayla could see it with all of her friends. I think the photo's speak for themselves...

We liked the movie, too, but not as much as these girls!

Christmas at Temple Square

2009-01-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

We went downtown to Temple Square to see the lights while Bob, Suz and Ellie were in town, with all of the Stockwell cousins.

I love this picture...

Dad's Heart Surgery, November 2008

2009-01-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

In November my sweet dad underwent triple bypass surgery, and we are so happy to report that he came through it beautifully. They even took a picture of his heart while they were operating and brought it out to the ICU waiting room to show us. When I told Matt about this, he asked me if dad's heart looked beautiful, because to him, dad's is the most beautiful heart he's ever seen. When dad woke up after the surgery, with tubes in his mouth, etc., I told him what Matt had said, and he got these sweet tears in his eyes.
Here we are on the day after the surgery!

San Francisco! November and December 2008

2009-01-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

Amalia and Gordon were SO nice as to offer us their home while we were in San Fran. Look how darling it is! Thanks, guys - we love you!

These pictures are in kind of random order, but I'll just go with it... We spent some time in San Francisco in November and December, and had a great time with family and friends. This is my friend Kristen Anthony, obviously about to deliver her little boy, Charlie!

Cousins climbing trees!

Crazy cousins!

Chinese lunch (that was not that great, to be honest...). The company was wonderful, though!

More time with the Anthony's! Thai food...much better!

Matt, Sarah, me and Karen at Karen's house. Dave's not in the picture but he was there, too. We love you guys!

Sarah, Amalia (who's beautiful house is posted), me and Karen.

Whitney & Tom Gourley's Wedding: Oct.24th & 25th, 2009

2008-12-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

We are so happy for Whitney and Tom!!! What a wonderful weekend, and reconnecting with the DC girls at the same time was a blast (see all of their blogs)!! Whit and Tom were married in the Salt Lake Temple on October 24th and had a beautiful ring ceremony and reception at Sundance on the 25th. The girls all had a sleep over at Traci Rampton's in-laws home (not a lot of sleep that night...) and it was wonderful to be with Whitney again so much that week.
The girls outside the SL Temple: Adrienne, Jill, Mauri, Kathy,

Anna, Catherine, Claudia, Traci and Cher

Inside the Sundance reception - sane group, adding in Whitney (gorgeous bride)!

Dinner with Frank Abagnale, October 24

2008-11-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen the movie Catch Me If You Can you may not be that familiar with Frank Abagnale, but I remember seeing that movie and being astonished that it was based on a true story. Matt and I attended a dinner at The Grand America Hotel with Matt's parents and were so excited to hear Frank Abagnale address the group as the keynote. We did not leave disappointed and I am now eager to read his autobiography, and am so inspired by what he's learned, what he teaches, and how he is so apply able to transfer that wisdom to others. His version of his life differed a little from the movie, but not by much, and he explained why there were some creative licenses taken with his story when it was made into a motion picture.

Pumkin Patch & Halloween!

2008-11-28T17:13:00.001-07:00

First of all, the trees in our neighborhood look like this during the fall, and I wish this picture could do it justice because the streets look like they are on fire - it's beautiful.
Dad carved the best pumpkin this year & took great pride in it. It was pretty cool - see below!

Dad and the kids at our carving-fest!

Kayla and some cousins picking out their favorite pumpkins.

No, that was not Matt's final selection - I think he knew I would decorate with some fun small ones, but it still looks funny that he's carrying that one around while the kids were carrying gigantic ones!

Natalie, Kayla & Lauren

The Stockwell gang!

California... this time with the kids! Oct. 15-19

2008-11-08T17:06:00.001-07:00

Noah, Kayla, Sarah at Salt Creek

Nate, Kayla & Mira at RFD!!

Shaun & Matt

We love the Goodsells!! Glen, Faye, Tess & Noah (pictured here), we miss you!

Mira, Nate & Kayla at Universal Studios with Sponge Bob...

Matt & Cher at Salt Creek

Matt in his happy place...

Great Nate

Matt's favorite bird...the Great Blue Heron

We spent an afternoon with the Eichenberg's in Newport Beach. Such dear friends that I wish we could see more of! They took us out on the "Duffy" to the Cannery for lunch, and then back to their house for a few hours. Bob let Nate and Kayla drive the Duffy...they're pros!

Robert Monson's 68th Birthday!

2008-10-12T20:56:00.000-06:00

Tonight we celebrated my dad's birthday with my Aunt Irene and Uncle Terry and their son (my cousin) Brett Jenkins and his wife, Kathryn, and their son's Landon, Parker and McKay. It was a lot of fun to hear stories about the Monson side of the family, and to see the interaction of my dad with his family. It has been so much fun having him living nearby - and the kids love it just as much as I do! Happy Birthday - we love you so much!

California! September 25-27, 2008

2008-10-12T19:58:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful QUICK trip to California a couple of weeks ago. I had just worked a LONG week the week before with my job's annual convention, so I needed to relax and to be no where near work to recuperate! This trip was just the perfect balance between visiting loved ones and getting pampered. One of the highlights to the trip was an afternoon with my friend and former room mate, Jen Hawkins. We spent the afternoon at the Burke Williams Spa to celebrate her birthday (2nd year in a row)! I didn't take a picture, unfortunately, on this trip, but here's one from when we were room mates. I also found one from the wedding (with my bridesmaids)... Jen's the one second from the left. I love you, Jen!

Some of our dearest friends and their beautiful family!

Michelle and Stan Mortensen and their kids Ella and Steven.

Louise Jones was my former Relief Society president in the Corona del Mar ward and she and her husband, Chris, are just dear to my heart.
Matt and my brother, Shaun, got in touch with their feminine side with a little pedicure...
Kristy Dunning and Rowan and Sarah (and baby #3 on the way soon)! Love you, Kristy!

The only photo's missing are of our dear friends, the Goodsells. We love you guys so much and promise to get a picture for our blog when we're back there, next!

Kayla... sooo pretty.

2008-08-30T23:34:00.001-06:00

Kayla & Jessica and the tiniest dog I've ever seen!
Jessica & Kayla and their music teacher, Mrs. Jones.
Kayla was just walking around the house this particular Sunday and she caught my eye - she's just so pretty and growing up so fast in this last year that I couldn't help taking pictures of her. Matt adores his girl(s)!!!

Lisa Lybbert's Wedding! August 9, 2008

2008-08-30T23:19:00.000-06:00

Lisa & David Piantanida!

Snowbird, Utah
Cher, Lisa & Caroline at the reception
Jen, Cherstyn, Lisa, Caroline, Rachel at the reception

Dad's Birthay - August 14, 2008

2008-08-30T23:13:00.000-06:00

( What fun to have Dad in town (Mom was with him for the whole summer except for the last little bit when she had to get back to St. George, and Dad stayed to watch some grand kids) for his birthday!! We sure love you, Dad!
(L to R: Cher, Kayla, Nate, Sydney, Dad, Connor, Michael, John, Laurie, James, Tresa, Jordan, Ashlee, Aliyah)

Sam & Sam's Wedding!

2008-08-30T23:08:00.001-06:00

Of course I don't have a picture of the beautiful bride and groom (working on that...) but we did have a fun time and some family shots turned out. Sam & Sam are friends through my brother, John's family, and they just got married on August 1st... pictures soon.

Nate & Kayla's Birthdays - July 20th & Aug. 1st

2008-08-30T22:47:00.000-06:00

Nate and Parker up at Solitude for some birthday biking.
Family/Friends/Neighborhood joint birthday parties!
Backyard pyramid - this is their 4th try...
Julie, Cherstyn, Kristen
Of course the girls all congregated off in the corner together...

Outter Banks, NC with the Girls - August 10-13, 2008

2008-08-28T20:29:00.000-06:00

Every year the DC girls get back together again at the Outter Banks, North Carolina. I haven't been able to go in the last few years and I'm so happy we made it happen this year. Love you guys!
JJ and Caroline with Jill's pina coladas
Up all hours of the night watching the Olympics!

Emily in Town - August 22-24, 2008

2008-08-28T20:19:00.000-06:00

Hot Matt in the mountains!! On our way hiking up to Red Pine Lake.
Nate, Kayla, Emily and Cher crossing a bridge on our hike.
Pretty pretty Emily.
Family photo, Matt style...

Market Street Grill with Mark Raymond.
Kayla & Nate digging for fresh water shrimp - such fun kids!

Summer Visits with Friends!!

2008-08-28T19:21:00.000-06:00

August 30, 2008 - Amber Sechrist in town from DC. LOVE this girl!

Wonderful family friends, the Dahlquist's, met us for dinner this summer while my parents were in town. When I grew up in the Sandy Granite South Stake, President Dahlquist was my Stake President and I always adored his family. It was a fun reunion since my parents don't always have an opportunity to reconnect with friends in SLC.
Shawni Pothier was in town and we met for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. She's still as beautiful inside and out as she always has been, and it was wonderful to catch up in person. Shawni has always been such a wonderful listener and gives great feedback. Wonderful to see you and hear about your life, Shawni!
Doug & Karen McMinn invited a fun group over to Karen's parent's home this summer and invited long-lost friends Liz and Andrew Florence. It was WONDERFUL to see Doug & Karen again (waaaayyy tooo long!) and to reconnect with Liz & Andrew. It will be fun to get together with the Florence's here in SLC, and we look forward to Doug and Karen's next visit!!! Thanks for having us!
On August 30th was Whitney Klomp's bridal shower. SO happy for you, Whit!

You are beautiful!
Office party picture of the girls from the UAR! Deanna, Kaci, myself, and Megan.

Nothing like a visit from Traci Rampton and lunch with the girls at Nordy's Cafe! So great to see you, Traci! (August 27, 2008)

Summer Vacation: June 29 - July 8, 2008

2008-07-26T17:23:00.001-06:00

So part of the reason that I haven't posted in so long (all summer!) is because we went on a long and fun summer vacation, and there were so many pictures to sift through that this post became a bit of a chore. Couple that with how much travel our family has done since, and blogging just hasn't happened. But I'm back on the bandwagon and you'll see lots of updates to catch you up on our last few months. Here goes! (this picture above is us being ridiculous in H&M in DC. Ridiculous happened a lot on this trip!)

Our trip went like this (the pictures are out of order, though): Salt Lake to Columbus, Ohio, to Kirtland, to Niagara Falls (pronounced by Nate, "Nee-ug-are-uh"), to Palmyra, to New York City, to Washington, DC, to Columbus, Ohio, to Cedar Point, to Salt Lake City. Phew!!

One of the most special stops in DC for us was to the Jefferson Memorial. Matt had proposed to me at this monument (learning from my friends that it was my favorite monument), and the kids had been part of the little notes that he lined the monument with during his proposal. They were so excited to actually be where this proposal happened, and wanted us to walk them through EXACTLY how it happened. Very fun.
Cedar Point is an amazing amusement park in Ohio. Nate was talking about it for several weeks prior to and several weeks post our trip. Ask him about Top Thrill Dragster...

The kids were floored by New York City... so fun to experience it through their eyes!
The Albert Einstein statue in Washington, DC.
Max, Noah, Nate & Kayla at the Lincoln Memorial.

Our family at the Jefferson Memorial.

The boat house in Central Park, New York City.
Nate, Max & Kayla at FAO Schwarz in NYC.
My nephew, Daniel. He's so awesome, wonderful, adored, grown up!, and good looking!
Me and Matt with Daniel and my other nephew, his brother, Joe. LOVED seeing these guys. They have always meant so much to me and I'm so impressed with and proud of them.
The whole gang at Lombardi's pizza in NYC.

A highlight of the trip - the whole family in the sacred grove, Palmyra, NY.
This was a common scene every time we got out of the car on the trip... Max and Nate throwing a tennis ball on any strip of grass, at every truck stop, and every park.
Matt and Shane love to fish and thought it was pretty funny that they have a vending machine for fishing BAIT in Palmyra.
Their first view of Times Square.
Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, NYC.

I love this picture...at the visitors center in Palmyra, the kids are so cute looking at this statue of the first vision.
The Palmyra Temple.
Kayla in the sacred grove.
Matt and Cher in the sacred grove.

The kids loved how many states they drove through on this trip (8 total!), but loved even more that they can now say they've left the country by going to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls.

This one is Matt's favorite view of the falls. He's been here before and wanted to walk us all right back to this awesome spot.
The family at the Hill Cumorah.

Cute flying kids.
Max and Nate.
Niagara Falls.
The Kirtland Temple.
Everyone at Niagara.

My Sweet Husband - June 17, 2008

2008-07-26T16:14:00.000-06:00

So Matt learned from my DC girlfriends that they were all going to the George Michael Concert in DC this summer, and I was dying to go (George Michael was my 7th grade crush). Matt, romantic schemer that he is, tells me that he needs me to attend a work function with him in San Diego on Tuesday evening, June 17th, so we made the arrangements. We flew out to San Diego and went to Fish Market for dinner (SO good...beautiful restaurant on the water). You'd think I would have caught on that something was up when he took me to dinner (don't evening work functions revolve around a meal?), but I was just along for the ride. Those of you who know me well know that I am a schedule/planner type - so any opportunity to NOT be in charge of a plan is a welcome vacation to me. I didn't even think about why it would be strange that we would go to dinner first before a work event. Anyway, it was so much fun to be jet-setting with my awesome husband and to be overlooking the water on a sunny California evening. We left the restaurant and got back in the car for a bit - maybe 20 minutes or so. Matt suddenly pulls into a Target parking lot (random) and says he wants to change his shirt. Whatever. So he parks and goes to the trunk to get in his suitcase. As I then take the opportunity to primp for a second in the rear-view mirror, I notice in it this gigantic sign flashing GEORGE MICHAEL TONIGHT!!! Turns out that the Target parking lot was right across the street from the San Diego Sports Arena where George was playing. I jump out of the car and run back to Matt jumping and pointing at the flashing sign. Matt, playing it very cool, acts clueless and just keeps putting his shirt on, starring at me blankly. He finally smiles and I throw my arms around him and it was so much fun. The concert was just so-so... don't get me wrong, George has a rich voice and performs live very well. I guess I've just been to such phenomenal concerts that I can't help but compare (Matt and I gave it a 7 out of 10). But it was sooo worth going! I'd always wanted to see him perform live, and my husband making a surprise out of it made the whole thing perfect. Love him!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-25T22:59:00.000-06:00

Dinner up Emigration Canyon to Ruth's Diner with grandma and grandpa Viers. They visited us from Folsom, CA and we always love it when they come to town.

Here's Nate jumping over Matt and a couple of neighborhood boys...

...and another angle...this one taken from road-kill perspective.

Another DC Trip! May 13-17, 2008

2008-05-18T23:37:00.001-06:00

This time our trip to DC was for work (National Association of Realtors midyear meetings). My coworkers all went to the Orioles/Redsox game on Tuesday night - very fun! Matt hadn't been to Camden Yards before and the weather/evening couldn't have been more perfect.
More time with the gang! Here we have Heather and Michael Bush, Jill Chappell, Amber Sechrist, Margaret Owens (peeking out the back), Matt, me, and Caroline.
Erika (Thew) and Travis Bowen met us at our favorite Carlyle Grand Cafe - wonderful to spend time with them. Love you guys so much!

Mother's Day highs and lows but mostly highs... and some wonderful time with the Herger's!

2008-05-18T23:18:00.000-06:00

On Mother's Day we had wonderful guests for dinner - the Herger clan and also Laura Cannon. I worked for Congressman Herger in Washington, DC for 5 years, and then Laura replaced me in that position when I left. Laura now lives here in Utah and works with me. So the Herger's were in town visiting their daughter, Julie (her husband Wil and daughter, Reagan are all in the picture) and wanted to come by and see us before they left town. What a perfect Mother's Day to share it with them.

I have to also say (while talking about Mother's Day) that I am truly humbled by my family/kids/husband. I didn't know how personal to be in this post, but this whole experience turned out to be so tender and special that I feel okay sharing it. I found out just before Mother's Day that I was about to miscarry our little baby (I was barely pregnant and many people didn't even know, yet). As you can imagine I was heartbroken (and found it a bit ironic that this all happened over Mother's Day weekend). But what began as true sorrow and suffering turned into the most tender and rewarding of experiences as the kids (and sweet Matt) created such a special home and experience for our family. When we told the kids (can't hide crying from them), amazing Kayla vanished to her room for a while, and then all of a sudden our dog, Sadie, came to me with a letter sticking out of her dog-collar. I pulled it out and read the most humbling letter from my sweet daughter. At first I didn't feel much like going to church that day, but with Kayla's letter about how much she loves me and praising my efforts at mothering her and Nate, and with Nate singing in the primary program during church, I had a change of heart, and I'm so grateful that I did. Tears streamed down my face during church as I felt overwhelmed for these 2 little kids that I get to mother - how could I be sad when they love me more than I could have ever imagined. The day ended perfectly with such dear friends over in our home (and my dad, too). I truly felt the love from our Heavenly Father and couldn't deny the blessings that are so abundant in our lives.

BYU Women's Conference May 1-2, 2008

2008-05-18T23:07:00.001-06:00

This is the second year that a few of us have attended BYU Women's Conference and this year I had such a pleasant surprise happen. This couple that I'm pictured with here are two very important people to me from my upbringing. They are Jim and Karen Talbot; Jim was my bishop when I was in High School while Karen was my Young Women's President. While browsing the class catalogue, I saw Karen's name as an instructor and I made the trek across campus to catch the class. She is amazing - always was as a teacher in my youth. Afterward, I made my way to the front to reunite after so many years (I haven't seen them since I was 18) and it was such a fun reunion. Bishop Talbot (Jim) was a wonderful leader as well, and they were such a strong example to me as the kind of couple to emulate my future marriage off of. What a blessing to see them again.

St. George Weekend April 18-20, 2008

2008-05-18T22:41:00.000-06:00

My cute parents. They took us on a walk up Snow Canyon and it was beautiful. Matt and Nate rode their bikes (shocking... and we had already gone mountain biking that morning!) and we walked with the dog.

Nate's so good...

We had the most wonderful time in St. George with my parents! This is at a favorite restaurant, the Painted Pony.

Holly and baby...

2008-04-11T14:38:00.000-06:00

This is beautiful, past-due, Holly BEFORE she had her baby this week. I meant to post this right after we got our nails done that day, but you all know how life is... next thing I know a week-and-a-half has passed and the wonderful news has hit that Holly had her beautiful baby boy this week. SO happy for them! We sure love you, Holly! You're absolutely beautiful even 9+ months preggo, m'dear. Can't wait to meet the little guy!

Jill Jackson & Becca Holt

2008-04-11T13:42:00.001-06:00

It was so much fun to have Jill Jackson (JJ) in town! She is still living in NYC (see you there this summer, JJ) despite all of our efforts to get her to relocate to Utah. Becca Holt is actually the one who introduced me to Jill back at BYU in 1994 or so, and all of us lived in DC together for a time. Becca is now just up the street from me and it's been so wonderful to see so much of her this last year. We had them all over for dinner this week to celebrate Becca's birthday. Love you guys!

Kristen & Adam Anthony In Town!

2008-04-11T13:25:00.001-06:00

Kristen and Adam (and Luke!) Anthony were in town for General Conference weekend last week and I got to meet little Luke in person! What a cutie he is - no wonder Kristen is so enamoured with him! Kristen's friend, Raina, also lives in SLC with her family, so I joined them for lunch last Saturday afternoon. It was so wonderful to see them all. Kristen and I became friends before I ever moved to Newport Beach (a friend of a friend type of acquaintance through Heather Fortuna) and we became FAST friends. She is truly one of the best friends I have ever had (don't get me started...the girl is funny, feisty, feminine, creative, loyal, honest, beautiful, spiritual...). So great to see you, Kristen!
I held Luke for a while and didn't want to give him back! He's got the cutest little smile and dimple and they had some pretty funny stories about him.

Kayla, Kay-Dawg, Cracker-K, K-Dog-Diggity-Dig-Dog-Da-Dig-Dog

2008-04-11T13:14:00.000-06:00

There is so much that I could say about my beautiful, amazing, Kayla! Kayla is my best friend in the whole world (next to my own mother...it's all the same) and I am so grateful for, and have so much fun with, her! Her personality just keeps getting more and more entertaining and dynamic, and hanging out with her, even if we're just running errands, is a blast. She's got phenomenal taste (helps me decorate our house, pick outfits, etc.) and very interesting interests. She's smarter than I ever was at her age and is so diligent on her own with homework and chores, responsibilities, etc. She's so easy to love! In this picture we were making one of those tie-blankets last week and it turned out so cute - matches the pinks in her room perfectly.
Kayla also loves babies more than you could ever know - and they love her. It's amazing how drawn she is to a complete stranger's baby, and also how good and fun and quiet babies seem to be with her when she holds them! Anyway, she is just beautiful inside and out and I (we) love her so so much.

My Boy Nate

2008-04-11T12:16:00.000-06:00

This is Nate (on the right) and his best friend, Parker Swainston, a few Sunday's back walking home from church. I just wanted to take a few moments to talk about Nate and what impresses me so much about him. Where you could look at this picture and see two boys who look like church-going angels, it is probably no surprise to hear that they have "another" side to their personalities. It's true - they are "all boy" as Nate often reminds me (usually when he's covered in dirt and about to sit down to dinner having not washed his hands). They play pretty hard and make a lot of noise to say the least. This picture, though, really does depict how good Nate is... he's obedient and sensitive, and (truthfully) spiritual beyond measure. I'm often touched by his acts of service, his detailed nighttime prayers, his patience, and his work-ethic. I don't know where he came from, but it's probably a combination of Matt doing a really REALLY good job as a single parent for so long, and also that something special that Nate just brought with him innately. On top of that, he's so dang FUN. I love this kid. From the way he answers the phone when he sees that it's me calling ("Maaammmaaaa Maaammmaaa... a.k.a. ma-ma... ma-ma"... those who've heard it know exactly what I'm trying to spell out here in his funny voice. Who told him what "a.k.a." means?), to the way he climbs on me to give me the biggest, strongest hugs. It is an honor to be his mother and to learn from him as he grows. He's popular and doesn't know it (or doesn't care about it) and he's smart and doesn't brag about it. I'm just impressed with him and proud of him in every way. Now if I could just get him to pick up his socks/shoes/toys/dirty clothes... PS - his friend, Parker, is pretty fantastic, too.