moyes mania

Happy Birthday Sterling September 3, 2011

2011-09-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday....To my Angel boy...We love you and miss you more than words can describe!!

Sterling Graveside July 11, 2011

2011-08-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

"It's been said time heals all wounds. I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone." ~ Rose Kennedy

James Sterling Moyes September 3, 1987 - July 11, 2011

2011-07-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON TERRACE -

James Sterling Moyes, 23, fulfilled his earthly mission and returned

to the loving arms of his Heavenly Father on July 11, 2011. He was

born September 3, 1987 in Ogden, to Darren William and Chareyl

Lynn Gentry Moyes.

Sterling began his education at Uintah Elementary. He attended

South Junior High where he served as Student Body President. He

gratuated from Bonneville High School in 2006. Sterling's greatest

love in High School was playing Lacrosse which led him to become

ranked in the top ten of the Western States High School Lacrosse

Conference.

Sterling was an Eagle Scout and served an LDS mission in the

Argentina, Bahia Blanca Mission. After returning from his mission,

he attended Weber State University.

He loved traveling with his family, especially taking trips to Oregon

and Bear Lake where he would spend time with his Grandparents,

Aunts, Uncles and many cousins. There is no one, however, that he

loved being with more than his brothers and sisters, especially his

seven year old little brother, Robby.

During his time with us, Sterling taught us all how to truly care and

be compassionate. People were drawn to him with his warm, fun

personality and great smile. He will always be remembered for his

big kind heart and willingness to put his arm around those who

needed a friend.

Sterling is survived by his parents; brothers, Darren Gentry (Vanesa

Nemelka), Grayson, Robby and his two sisters, Madison and Chloe.

Also surviving him are his grandmothers, Sharyl Burnett Moyes and

Pauline Barbur Gentry. He was preceded in death by his two loving

grandfathers, James Kirk Moyes and Frank V. Gentry.

Haiti May 2011

2011-05-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

Haitian Roots Volunteer/Parent Trip

Grayson Moyes first trip to Haiti!

Haitian Roots Volunteer/Parent trip to Haiti to distribute items

from container...

Grayson was able to join the trip and was such a hard worker,

I love spending the one on one time with my sweet 16 year old son.

The volunteers were all amazing and we accomplished much.

It was great for the parents to visit their children 9 haitian roots children who

were orphaned by the earth quake and are now being adopted by

four amazing families.

We were able to have a party with our Haitian Roots sponsored children and give

them food, clothing, toys and other great supplies donated by lot's of wonderful

families.

We went out to visit the land we purchased to build a school and orphanage, Brent

from Bel Haiti village project partner was along on the trip as well.

We learned much from the trip and hope to put our knowledge to good use!

eAsTeR 2011

2011-04-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Moyes Family 2011

Gentry and Vanesa

2011-01-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

Gentry and Vanesa Moyes December 18, 2010

The Moyes family is happy to welcome Vanesa Maureen Nemelka into the family!!

Chloe Graduation!! May 2010

2010-08-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Chloe Ellen Moyes Graduates from Bonneville High School!

Seminary graduation...Gentry, Chloe and Vanesa

Seminary Graduation

Grandma Sharyl and Chloe

Haiti ...

2010-08-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

Haven't been much of a blogger these days....But I have been feeling a great need to share my experiences, thougths and feelings about the last couple of trips to Haiti, most especially the trip to bring the children home after the earth quake. I can't help but think about how I never want to forget God's hands in that journey. I know that as time goes on we all get busy and we forget things, we do, it is human nature really! But I hope that none of the adoptive parents who have their children home will ever question how their children got here and by whos hand...oh and by the way, I don't mean me!!

mY LiFe mY cRaZy LiFe!!

2010-08-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I looked at the date of my last post October 30, 2009 for a split second I thought to myself, "why on earth has it been so long" then I remembered what has been going on in my life...Here is a little recap just to bring you up to speed...At the time of my last post my husband Darren and I had just returned from visiting Madi in China, she was there teaching English, it was amazing. We LOVED China, especially the Great Wall, but what we loved the most was spending time with Madi!!! On November 3, 2009 our then 17 year old daughter Chloe was in a terrible auto accident and broke her femur. It was an awful accident, the car was totalled and we were just grateful that she survived, but the next couple of months were extremely difficult, we had to have home care nurses and physical therapists. Madi returned home right before Christmas Yippee!! January 2010 brought about the most devastating earth quake of all time to the impoverished island nation of Haiti. about the middle of January I found myself in the middle of the ravaged country of Haiti advocating on behalf of over 50 adoptive families to be able to
process the necessary paperwork to escort the children out of Haiti and to the loving arms of their families!! With God's help Team Hope was successful. In the midst of bringing the orphans home, I was able to bring three amazing little Haitian girls home to stay for awhile, Gaelle, Guesrie and Gloria Mardy. These girls are the daughters of Marjorie and Guesno Mardy, they were able to return home with me to the states only because they already had passports and visa's. They were able to seek refuge from the heart ache of their family and their country. In December the girls youngest brother Gardy had been kidnapped for ransom, and as of this time he has not been safely returned (although we continue to have faith and pray for him). The girls were able to stay for 6 months. We will always love these girls as our own family and pray that God will protect them and bless them. February we took a short family trip, with the Mardy girls to Oregon where my sister Kathy was married on Valentines day. We enjoyed lots of fun with my family in Oregon, stopped on our way home to visit a beautiful Oregon treasure Multnomah falls and the Columbia river gorge.
March brought on a lovely knee surgery from a most spectacular fall in Haiti on the rescue trip where I tore my meniscus, Madi turned 20. April was a trip to Baltimore for the Joint Council Conference, great workshops and thanks to my husband for tagging along! Chloe turned 18 and Grayson turned 15. May was a trip to Orlando for a Skywest conference for Darren, and yes I had to join him:-) Then Chloe's graduation from high school, even after being home schooled for 3 months, she did it! We are so proud of her, and yes she is recovering well and in another year or so she will get the rod and all the screws and bolts out of her leg. From January to Now, things have been over the top crazy busy for Haitian Roots, in May Isson traveled to Haiti to purchase the land where we will build a school and partner with Bel Haiti to build an orphanage. For a while we were a little unclear on the size of property we actually purchased, but we know now...8 acres. We also teamed up with University of Utah architecture students and an architectural firm, Common studios who decided to do a project where students from the U would design our children's village for us. Very exciting...which brings us to June, a trip to Haiti with Haitian Roots (Shannon our head planner and coordinator) Bel Haiti, U of U students and professors and our wonderful associates from Common studios. I also stayed an additional week in Haiti with Tom and Rebecca from Joint Council on International Children's services. Also in June the Wasatch picnic! And a family trip to Bear Lake with the Mardy girls joined by their brother Gus and their mom. Gentry buys a home during this period of time and we actually start the renovations that we are doing our selves. July starts off with the Foyer reunion, Girls camp (me the camp director) and ends with the Most exciting news of all.. my oldest son asked his darling girl friend Vanesa to be his bride and she said YES! So December 18, the first of our 6 children will marry. August comes screaming in with several trips to the hospital and ending in surgery due to the lovely kidney stones I have been blessed to have. And now we are back to school which is hard to understand because I want to know what happened to summer!!! So this is a VERY brief recap of the last 10 months of my life...my crazy life!! But my heart is full of gratitude, for my relationship with God, family, friends, a beautiful home, my health (even though it seems poor lately) And a job that allows me to meet the most amazing people and share in their adoption journey's. My love goes out to all of you that touch my life for good! I hate to think of what my life would be without you in it.

mY CrAzY LiFe...tHaNkFuL

2010-08-27T22:59:00.000-07:00

Photos from Chloe's accident.. even now months later...words do not describe how thankful I am that she is okay!! My fiesty, funny, crazy and yes even sweet little Chloe...

November 2009

MoThEr RuSsiA...mAy 2009

2009-10-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times,

always with the same person. ~Mignon McLaughlin

Darren and I in Moscow, Red Square!! I loved it!

It was so fun to spend time together!

Here is the whole gang in Belarus!

So it was quite a big deal for a Belorussians airline to be getting a new aircraft, so the media

met us and interviewed the pilots, I took this photo as I was getting off the airplane, I actually tried to wait until the media left, but apparently the Belorussians president was coming in right after us and they were trying to get us into the airport pretty quickly to close off the rest of the airport...very exciting for us!

Darren, Lynn and Pete in Belarus

So I am backing up a bit, wanted to post a couple photos of Darren and I in Belarus and Moscow Russia...It seems like a year ago when we were there and so much has happened sense that trip, but I really wanted to post a few photos. I learned so much on this trip, I hate to admit, but I had never heard of Belarus before heading out on this journey, Belarus is a very old country but sadly because of the devastation of War most of the original country was destroyed!
I was over the top excited about visiting Moscow. The other pilots and their wives left us in Belarus and headed for Paris, but Darren and I ventured to Moscow on our own. We found a great English tour and visited as much as we could in the few days we were there. We did learn that though we all may think the KGB has been disbanded the people of both Belarus and Russia do not believe that to be true one bit. Our tour guide was pretty funny, she was a Russian woman that spoke English with a strong accent, and she would talk pretty matter of fact about some of the earlier goings on of the KGB including people being killed, but she wouldn't say that, she would say.."Well, they were never seen again" stuff like that. The trip was so awesome!!Thank you Skywest Airlines for giving us the 0opportunity to see this part of the world!

OcToBeR 2009

2009-10-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, you know you haven't posted in awhile when you nearly couldn't log on because you forgot your pass word...So I will give this another shot!

mAy....tRiP tO RuSSiA...

2009-07-22T12:30:00.001-07:00

May 2009, Darren was asked to deliver an airplane (Jet) for his company to Minsk Belarus, of course I had to join him. Two other pilots were asked to take the journey as well and luckily their wives were able to come too! We had a great time and it was really fun for me to be on an airplane that my husband was actually flying...

We had several stops on the trip for fuel or to stay over night....First overnighter was in

ICELAND! Below are a few shots of us in the plane and in Iceland...

Darren and I in flight!

This is the quaint little town where we stayed in Iceland.

Darren in action flying the plane!

Here is a picture of the whole gang, the Airline that was leasing the new Jet from Darren's Airline (SkyWest) was Belavia Air, Belavia sent four Belorussians to join us on the journey.....

aNd ApRiL cOnTiNuEs....

2009-07-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Moyes Family Celebrates another Birthday.....

Chloe Ellen Moyes

April 22, 2009

17 years old

Chloe chose to celebrate her birthday with her

family by going out to dinner,she chose Chilli's because she loves

the Chocolate Moulton Cake!

Chloe is our second daughter and fourth child.

Chloe is a perfect example that children are born with their

personality's, she has always been the sweetest most

loving little girl ever, but boy oh

boy she can be so feisty as well, and truly it

has been that way from the get go.

Chloe is also extremely funny. She is the comic

relief around our home! I love having two

daughters and I am so grateful that they are not only

sisters but best friends!

Chloe and I just returned from Haiti it was fun to be on a trip

with just her! Chloe, I hope you always know that I love you

just the way you are, funny, feisty, stubborn,sweet, loyal

and loving and full of life! I hope you will always

follow your dreams and be a great photographer

(which you already are), or whatever you decide to do.

MoRe ApRiL FaMiLy FuN....

2009-07-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Easter

April 2009

Robby coloring easter eggs!

Robby and his best friend and cousin Dari, aren't they so cute!
This year the Moyes Family Easter dinner was at our home.

Yes that is an easter basket on Robby's head, and yes this is the only

photo I got of all my children on easter!
Our older children told us this easter how much they loved having a little brother around especially during the holidays, it makes it so much more exciting to see things through his big wide eyes (coloring eggs, waking up and finding out that the easter bunny brought us treats, and having an easter egg hunt). We all agree how blessed we are to have such a sweet little boy be apart of our family, easter basket on the head and all!

ApRiL

2009-06-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

HaPpY hApPy BiRtHdAy!!

gRaYsOn WiLLiAm

BiG nUmBeR "14"

ApRiL 2nd

Grayson celebrated his 14th birthday with his family at Tempanyaki (I have no idea how to spell that). Robby had an absolute blast watching the dinner be lit up in flames! I have posted a picture of Grayson with his grandma who was with us at the birthday celebration because Grayson just adores his Grandma. Just a few years ago Grandpa Kirk passed away and Grayson and him were quite the buddies as well, but since Grandpa passed away Grayson really looks after Grandma Sharyl. He goes to her house at least once a week to help her with projects, mainly mowing the grass (and there is Lot's of grass), but if there is anything else she needs to have done he is happy to do it.
Grayson is good through and through! He is full of love for his family and he is an awesome friend. Grayson ran for office this year and was voted as the 9th grade president for next year. He will make a great president!! Grayson, thanks for all you do to help your family, especially your grandma, I know grandpa is watching and is very happy!!

aNd eVeN mOrE mArCh

2009-06-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

MaDi tUrNs "19"

mArCh 21

Madi celebrated with her sister Chloe, cousins McCall and Chelsea! It is one of Madi's favorite things to do since she was in junior high, spend the day shopping in Salt Lake with her sister and cousins, her Aunt Shanna and of course her mom!! We had a fun day together!

Madi is so sweet and so easy to please, she loves her family and loves to spend time with them. She LOVES family traditions like birthday celebrations, going to Bear Lake with the Moyes family or visiting Portland to see all the Gentry clan (her mom's family). Or just the simple traditions like family night every Monday night, or dinner every Sunday with Grandma Sharyl, her dad's mom.
Madi graduated from high school last spring and this year she went to Weber State University, didn't love it!
But most of all this year Madi has been her mom's number one right arm (I call her my Nanny), watching her little brother and helping around the house so mom and dad could make a few journey's to far off lands. Madi will be going to China in August for four months to teach English at a private school, no she does not know Chinese, (for some reason this is the first question everyone asks). She is going with a group from Provo Utah called ILP, she is nervous, but very excited. Her family is excited for her too, but she will be missed a lot, especially by her mom. I think that what ever Madi decides to do in her life she will be amazing at, she has a heart of gold. She is perceptive, and really understands when someone needs a helping hand. She is one of the best friends I have ever seen, she loves unconditionally. I feel blessed to have a daughter like Madi! This may be a little late in writing, but I have loved the past 19 years with you Madi!!

wE hAvE MoRe mArCh

2009-06-27T06:00:00.001-07:00

GeNtRy'S aNnUaL sT. PaTTy's PaRtY

mArCh 17

Since Gentry's return from serving an LDS mission in Ireland two years ago he has had a big St. Patricks party! He has all his old missionary buddies and lots of kids from Weber State as well. And of course the whole Moyes gang is invited (after all, he does need our help putting the party on). My dad's mom is from Ireland so I am sure that my dad and his parents are smiling down on us and loving that we are keeping up with some Irish traditions!!

mArCh

2009-06-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

ChLoE gOeS tO ThE pRoM...

So Chloe gets asked to the prom by a random boy at school (random to her because she did not know him) she being the sweet girl that she is says yes, and Jorge is thrilled, a day after Chloe said yes a dozen red roses are delivered to our house, the note attached was simple..."thank you for saying yes, Jorge" (of course being the mom, I am immediately in love with this boy that I have never even seen a photo of) Chloe thinks it is sweet too!
but and usually there is always a but, on closer examination of her day (and I do mean day, dances and proms have become an all day event these days), Chloe begins to panic, "wait, I don't even know this person, and how on earth does he know me" and a really important one..."Oh my, I will not be with any of my friends, not at the day activity and not at the dinner, I will be in a totally random group with people I don't know!!...Oh, dear, how will this work out"
As the prom approaches Chloe is feeling like she has made a mistake, she is being pushed out of her comfort zone....But I am proud to say that Chloe did it, she went to the Prom with sweet Jorge! She had a GREAT time and was so thankful that she said YES! What a great lesson to learn when you are young! Get out of your comfort zone, make new friends!!

LiFe'S bEEn cRaZy!

2009-06-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

So life has been crazy and I haven't had time to post much, I have decided to do a month by month up-date..since the last post was in February, I am going to start with March and work my way to June....or it may be July when I get done!
So, here we go.....

GiRL MeeTs bOy!

2009-02-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

Girl meets boy, February 22, 1985

I tell this story at the risk of really dating myself...but here goes anyway!

24 years ago I returned home from serving an LDS mission in the Philippines, I was suppose to return home on December 14, but ended up coming home the first of February and was able to travel home with my second companion (who I served 9 months with). My home was in Portland Oregon, my companion (pictured with me below) Carilyn is from Ogden Utah.
I had only been home a couple of days when Carilyn called to tell me her father was in the hospital, he had suffered a heart attack. She really wanted me to meet him, so we made arrangements for her to travel to Oregon to meet my family and I would return with her to Ogden to meet her family, especially her father.
Long story short, while I was in Ogden I got a tooth ache (I had lost a filling in the Philippines and opted to wait until I got home to fix it, given the fact that I never ran in to a dentist while I was there). Anyway, it was a Saturday afternoon and Carilyn called her Uncle who was a dentist and asked if there was anything he could do, being the incredible kind man that he was he agreed to meet us at his dental office (on Madison Avenue, this is where our first daughter got her name).
Carilyn's uncle brought with him to the office, his beautiful wife, Sharyl (and yes, we both share the same name now, spelled different, but still the same), and his son Darren, he brought his son to be his dental assistant (and no my husband did not become a dentist, he is an airline pilot, in fact I can't think of another time in which Darren ever helped out at the dental office...hmmm). For me it was love at first sight, for Darren, maybe not love at first sight, you know the whole suction, dental thing....But for the sake of keeping this story short, I will just say that it was only 9 short months later that we were married. Today actually marks our first official date 24 years ago. We went skiing, all day! Darren had recently returned from serving an LDS mission as well, he had served in Bolivia! We both LOVED the time we spent serving missions, and we loved sharing stories...
So 24 years later, 6 kids, a cat (who died), a dog and a huge mortgage we are still going strong. Life has not always been easy and we have faced our share of bumps in the road, but the older I get the more firmly I believe that I found my soul mate in every way.
Darren is a quite reserved kind of guy, he is the youngest of a family of four children, by four years. I am in the middle of 13 children, I don't really have to say more (although I will mention the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it is similar to our lives). I appreciate how supportive Darren has always been, we have had four of my sisters live with us, spanning about 5 years, we had a niece for another 18 months, a younger brother for a summer and myriads of house guests every year. When one of my sisters graduated from college (here in Utah) we had 20 house guests in our 2100 square foot home, it was crazy, but so much fun!!
Darren is also one of the most honest people I know! He is kind, gentle and trust worthy he is extremely hard working, and most of all he is a family man, he loves his children and when his crazy wife approached him about adopting a little boy from Haiti, even though we already had
five children, he was on board all the way!!
I am so grateful that I served a mission, met Carilyn, came to Utah, met my husband and have the wonderful life I have today! Darren is not a man of many words but his smile says so much about what he feels, and I am grateful after 24 years we are both still smiling!

Chareyl Gentry in the Philippines

(this is where our oldest son Gentry got his name)

Chareyl and Carilyn in Japan on our way home from the Philippines

Darren and Chareyl, met February 22, 1985

Married September 10, 1985

Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.
Amy Bloom

FaMiLy

2009-02-04T00:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know I haven't posted in a long time so this is long over due!!
Some of you may know that I tend to tease a little about the fact that all six of my children still live at home, and they are costing me an arm and a leg...Truth is, I love having them all home and I appreciate what great kids they are. No they aren't perfect and thankfully neither are their parents, but we love them just the same!
For Christmas this year our kids made Darren and I a video, it was the greatest Christmas gift we could have received. It was set to music and had a little interview from each child and then photos of them from the time they were little, it included family trips and great times together! Robby LOVES to watch it and probably would watch it every day if we let him. He will say "lets all watch our happy family movie".
Then just a couple days ago I returned from a trip to Haiti, I left all my adult children in charge, especially since their dad has a pretty full schedule. When I walked in the door, the house was completely in order! I didn't get home until after midnight so the house was quite and everyone was in bed. I was standing in the clean kitchen looking around and feeling blessed (and very impressed), there were little notes on the counter welcoming me home, one very cute one written by Robby (with a little help from his sister Madi) telling me how much he missed me, and then I looked over at the fridge where one of my girls had written a quote in very nice print, like a poster, it read "Be the change you wish to see in the world" (by Ghandi)I was so touched by this! What wonderful examples my children are to me..We all need to be the change we wish to see in the world.
So I wanted to post some of my favorite photos of my kids that were taken during the holidays. To Gentry, Sterling, Madi, Chloe, Grayson and Robby, Thanks so much for your support and helping when I am out of the country. You are the best kids a mom could ask for! Love you tons!!

"Be the Change you Wish to see in the World"

EXERCISE!!

2008-11-24T14:56:00.000-08:00

So I have been living my life lately in a happy blissful state of not caring to much about the whole body image, trying to tell myself that "this is who I am, like it or leave it" until my doctor crashes my whole eat and be merry party! I have high cholesterol, so much so that I have been told to lose weight, EXERCISE, and eat better and told to start on a medication (this does not thrill me) and to top it off, I have also been battling kidney stones (not so fun to say the least) So I decided to join a club and a nutrition program....Now it is the exercise that I am struggling with, I of course am very out of shape and not a big fan anyway, so I started with the Seniors aerobic class and this was going well (for about a month), the senior citizens are the sweetest ladies ever and one day I even had one of them call me at home to cheer me on, most of them look pretty amazing too, they are like my new best friends, and the classes have been manageable. Then my friend talks me into going with her to the new body combat class, it happens to be taught by another friend of ours...Well let me tell you, I don't think I am ready to combat anyone. That class is out of control and those ladies are crazy, some of which I would not want to meet late at night on the streets, they would take me down! And, I am not just saying this so that someone will say "oh that is not true" trust me it is true, I am by far the largest individual in the class. Some of the ladies in the class have real combat gloves on, they are ready for battle! So at one point in the class we are boxing into the air at our pretend hanging down boxing ball and I have got my eye on the instructor concentrating on her every move and trying to keep up without actually having a heart attack and then it happened, I punch myself under the chin, bite my tongue and cause my tongue to bleed... yea, for sure I am ready to take down the intruder, if the intruder happens to be ME. So really is exercise all that it is cracked up to be, I mean seriously I could cause some bodily injuries to myself. So for all you exercise buffs...my hats off to you. I hope I actually survive!!

Do you think there is any kind of Plastic surgery that will remove high cholesterol and kidney stones? If so maybe I should start saving my money....I am thinking that I may have to stick to the poor man's plastic surgery!

sEaSoNs

2008-11-20T22:45:00.001-08:00

Season's in Utah can sometimes be confusing especially to a 5 year old, snow falling in the morning and sun shinning bright in the afternoon....this is Rob on his way to pre-school the other day...All the seasons are represented here, rain jacket, snow boots and mittens (you can never be too sure when a rain burst or snow storm might break out) and to top off his ensemble.....swimming goggles!

As you can see, I have learned over the past 22 years as a parent to choose my battles (okay, so maybe it actually took me 22 years to figure this out), so Rob goes to pre-school pretty happy with some of his outerwear choices!! And truly is there anything cuter! I think not! So as we are headed out the door I grab the camera to take this picture and Rob just looks up at me and says "I'm cute, huh mom!" No doubt about it!

HaLLOwEEn hOtShOtS

2008-11-10T16:19:00.000-08:00

So I am a little late with my Halloween post...But here we go anyway...As you can see that as children get older it might be a little difficult to tell what they are actually dressed up as.. Here we have a rocker...two cruella devil's (one a friend) and an M&M rocker......

...Next we have a couple of Bonneville football players with a little bling bling on their hands..(one is mine and one is a friend)....

..... Next we have a hippie!!

And saving the cutest for last is batman!!! At a halloween party he won the costume contest as the child with the costume that most fit the child. Darren wanted to know what they meant by that until we saw our son flying off the stage at the party.
This costume actually gets plenty of use...he wears it everyday and has it on as I type....sweet little batman!! (PS, no we have not let him see the grown up versions of batman, but he does love the commercials and has wanted to be batman ever since they started playing)

AdOpTiOn

2008-10-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

I came across these photos today of my niece Dari's fourth birthday party at McDonald's. While we were there that day a couple of my friends came in to celebrate one of their daughters birthday. As we all sat there watching the children play it occurred to us that right there in that little McDonald's there were 6 little children (with us) that had been adopted (by 5 families) from different parts of the world. One child from Micronesia, one from Bulgaria, two adopted from the foster care system and two from Haiti. It was very touching to all of us. Who would imagine that in a a McDonald's in South Ogden Utah, there would be children from all around the world touching the lives of so many families...What a blessing...What a joy...We decided to take their picture...(this was harder than we had anticipated and one little boy chose not to be in the photographs)

"Adoption is like a scavenger hunt, you have to travel so far sometimes to find the little treasures God has left for us but it is worth it in the end!" Maureen Kerik

"My Harvest I did not plant you, true. But when the season is done, When the alternative prayers for sun and for rain are counted, When the pain of weeding And the pride of watching are through, Then I will hold you high, A shining sheaf above the thousand seeds grown wild. Not my planting, But, by heaven, My harvest -My child."

Carol Lynn Pearson

For those of you my friends who are on this adoption journey, let me tell you from the bottom of my heart, It is worth it in the end, and no matter what part of the world they are coming from they will be YOUR child!

hAiTi

2008-10-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller

I just spent an amazing week in Haiti and wanted to share a few things that I felt with my heart...
To start off; I have A huge amount of love for adoptive parents who love unconditionally, they take their little Haitian children that they meet for the first time without reservation, most sick with some sort of parasite inflicted upon them by the conditions of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere! I leave the country in love with the adoptive parents and their children and feel it a privilege to share in their adoptive journey's. I have Gratitude! gratitude for more things than I can name, but here are just a few; A sweet man named Harry Mardy, who worked tirelessly to arrange our trip, provide us with vehicles and drivers and be our translator; Nannies at orphanages that work hard to love and care for the children in trusted in their care, with little compensation and sometimes going without food themselves so that the children can be fed; Orphanage directors who take children off the streets, sometimes when they absolutely do not have the room, money or goods to care for them, but they cannot bear to hear of another child dying on the streets; Volunteers who go to places like Haiti, using their own funds, dedicating their own time, leaving families behind, sitting in hot orphanages, (or on the ground in the parking lot of an LDS church) feeding and playing with children without any regard for the conditions in which they find themselves! Gratitude for people willing to raise money for food for the orphanages and/or so that children in a program called Haitian Roots can go to school; I feel grateful for the opportunity to be part of such organizations and to have gone to Haiti to be with all of the these children, parents and volunteers. I felt overwhelmed at the feeling of the Spirit when attending church in Petionville Haiti, walking into the chapel having it so full there was hardly room for us to sit! There are no words to describe the feeling in my heart at hearing the hymns sung so loud, a literal praise to the Lord, in French! (and no accompaniment) Knowing and feeling that we are ALL God's children where ever we may live in this world!
I left the country of Haiti a better person, with so much love in my heart, with so much gratitude for those that touched my life, and for the eternal friendships made along the way. And for the miracles that I was privileged to witness!

hAiTi HiGhLiGhTs

2008-10-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Loading the lugage filled with bags of food from Feed My Starving Children.....

The food (bags of rice with dehydrated vegies and protien) from Feed My Starving Children....

Children in the Haitian Roots sponsorship program 115 children currently enrolled in school (only half with sponsors)...what an amazing site!

iNsPiRaTiOn

2008-10-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

Harry Mardy and Guesno Mardy...two brothers who do nothing but inspire you. They both run and coordinate orphanages, they both live at orphanages with their wives and children loving and caring for the orphans of Haiti. They love their country and want to make a difference and on top of that they are both men of God.

We all have people who inspire us...Well Perla is one of those people, I believe she inspires all who know her. She is one of the Founders of Haitian Roots (haitianroots.com) she made the journey to Haiti even though she is about 3 months pregnant, but she wanted to be with all the children in our program so bad before her baby was born. She is pictured here with two of the boys in HR. We all had an amazing trip and felt that much was accomplished!

LOOK WHO JUST TURNED 5

2008-10-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

A couple that live down the street from us, who just adore Robby brought him this blow up chair for his birthday! He LOVES it! (He is such a little celeb!)

After Rob blew out the candles on his cake he turned to his cousin Dari (who is 6 months older than him and a couple inches taller) and ask her to stand up and see who was taller now...ofcourse he was thinking that now that he was 5 like her he might be at least AS tall as her.

Robby celebrated his 5th birthday on October 5th! funny thing is he kept telling us all day that he wasn't 5 until everyone came over, sang happy birthday to him and he blew out the candles. The Moyes family came over at 5:00 for dinner and finally at around 6:00 pm it was official, robby turned 5!!

iT aLL wOrKs OuT!

2008-10-17T23:40:00.000-07:00

I have been working for Wasatch International Adoptions for about 5 years now. There have been many times when I have gotten a bit stressed out over things that I do not have control over...A baby dies, a birth mother takes her child back, an adoptive family changes their mind. Recently in the middle of one of these little crises-es I was able to witness a miracle unfold, and a darling young couple reminded me of this valuable lesson taught by President Gordon B. Hinckley..It all works out the way the Lord would have it!! (Bonnie, Joel and Katelyn, thanks for your inspiration, I love you!)

“It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. Put your trust in God and move forward with faith in the future. The Lord will not forsake us . . . if we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers.”
Gordon B. Hinckley

gUaTeMaLa

2008-10-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

Be grateful. Every day is a new canvas-- a new opportunity...Choice
blessings await those who live in thanksgiving daily....Don't wait to start. Open your eyes, open your hearts, and open your arms. Joseph B. Wirthlin
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala and escort a baby home. It was an amazing experience, one I will never forget. But one thing that touched my heart was the generosity of many people. Just a week before leaving I learned of an orphanage that was in desperate need of money and supplies, I sent messages out to clients of Wasatch that are or who have adopted from Guatemala and to many of my friends and neighbors, and within a week I had two bursting suitcases full of supplies and nearly $4000.00 for the orphanage....what a privilege it is for me to see people open their eyes, hearts and arms to help others!

The orphange in Guatemala City, Guatemala